Podcasts about mckellen

The Critic - ist ein fiktiver Film, der die Geschichte eines anspruchsvollen und oft zynischen Theatherkritikers erzählt. Der Kritiker, bekannt für seine scharfen und manchmal vernichtenden Rezensionen, wird von einer jungen Schauspielerin herausgefordert. Danach setzt sich ein perfides Spiel in Gang an dem es am Ende auch einige Leichen gibt. London im Jahr 1934. Jimmy Erskine (lan McKellen) ist der beruhmteste und gefurchtetste Theaterkritiker der London im Jahr 1934. Jimmy Erskine (lan McKellen) ist der berühmteste und gefürchtetste Theaterkritiker der Stadt. Seine Besprechungen im Daily Chronicle beginnen und beenden Karrieren, wer ihn nicht überzeugt, muss hart einstecken. So auch die aufstrebende Schauspielerin Nina Land (Gemma Arterton), die ihn schon lange verehrt. Als der Chef des Chronicle stirbt und sein Sohn David Brooke (Mark Strong) die Zeitung übernimmt, gerät Erskine schnell in dessen Visier - zu extravagant seine Person, zu hedonistisch sein Verhalten, mit nächtelangen Partys und heimlichen Treffen mit jungen Männern wie seinem „Sekretar“ Tom (Alfred Enoch). Plötzlich sieht der Kritiker sowohl seinen Job als auch seinen Lebensstil gefahrdet, und er schmiedet einen teuflischen Plan. Um die Oberhand über Brooke zu behalten, zieht er die ahnungslose Nina in ein gefährliches Netz aus Intrige, Erpressung und Täuschung - mit mörderischen Folgen ... - Voilà, Papa! Der fast perfekte Schwiegersohn - Psychoanalytiker Dr. Olivier Béranger (Christian Claviersteht) vor einer großen Herausforderung: Sein Klient, Damien Leroy (Baptiste Lecaplain), leidet unter schweren Ängsten und ist extrem anhänglich. Um ihn loszuwerden, rät Olivier ihm, dass nur die wahre Liebe seine Phobien lindern könne. Ein Jahr später wird Olivier jedoch mit einer unerwarteten Wendung konfrontiert: Seine Tochter Alice stellt ihm ihren neuen Freund vor – Damien. Der „perfekte Schwiegersohn“, den sich Olivier immer erträumt hat, sieht anders aus. Nun muss er schnell handeln, um die Situation zu kontrollieren und ein weiteres unvorhergesehenes Problem zu vermeiden. - Timecodes: 00:00:00 Einleitung 00:03:30 The Critic 00:21:08 Wir tippen den nächsten Sneak-Film 00:24:19 Voilà, Papa! Der fast perfekte Schwiegersohn 00:36:41 Kinocharts und Neustarts 00:46:19 Paradise 00:54:38 Serien Neustarts 00:56:26 Gewinnspiel -

If there was a huge asteroid hurtling toward Earth threatening to destroy life as we know it and you could see one more show before you die, what would it be? It can be anything you want - a show you've seen before, one that you wish you'd seen, or something you've made up entirely. What would be YOUR Last Show on Earth? This is the podcast in which we ask a special guest the big, BIG question that nobody ever needed (or indeed) bothered to ask. Our guest this episode is Philip QuastTo theatre fans, Philip Quast needs no introduction, but here's one anyway. He is a multi award winning and hugely influential hero to many musical actors – ourselves included – and has graced stage and screen for nearly 5 decades. During this time he has won Mo Awards, Helpmann Awards, three Olivier Awards and was appointed Member of the Order of Australia in 2022 for significant services to the arts. Most musical fans first heard of him when he played Javert in the 10th Anniversary concert and ever since then, seeing his name on a cast list is enough to make any theatre fan go weak at the knees!Links:Wikihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_QuastGuardian interviewhttps://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/aug/10/cost-of-living-sydney-theatre-company-philip-quast-interviewJavert at the 10thhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urxk4mveLCwSunday in the Park with George documentary 1990https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av4M2Gzy4W0Pretty Women with Bryn terfelhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJjQo_YbFsETomorrow and Tomorrow speech analysis with McKellen and Nunnhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGbZCgHQ9m8Hosted by John Owen-Jones and Alistair BrammerMusic written by John Owen-Jones and Alistair BrammerMusic performed by John Owen-Jones, Alistair Brammer and John QuirkRecorded & edited by John Owen-Jones and Alistair BrammerA 2024 John Owen-Jones Associates Productionwww.johnowenjones.com/podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

De heren zijn weer onder elkaar en delen mee dat de kaartverkoop voor hun podcast event ‘The 3 Amigos' in de Deventer Schouwburg nu voor iedereen beschikbaar is! Na een korte bevinding over allerhande culturele activiteiten in de ‘Koekstad' uit Ruben Nicolai zijn zorgen over de negatieve ontwikkeling rondom feminisme en vrouwenhaat. Waar we decennialang de goede kant opgingen, ziet hij dat die vooruitgang in de afgelopen jaren 180 graden is gedraaid. Zodoende gaat hij het gesprek aan met de andere heren om extra bewustzijn te creëren. Haaks op toon van Ruben, neemt Tijl je mee naar het levensverhaal van Ed Gein. De beruchte, eerste ‘seriemoordenaar' staat ten grondslag van crimi's als ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre', ‘Silence of the Lambs' en ‘Psycho'. Hoe dat zit, vertelt Tijl in diens merkwaardige levensloop. Liefdevol sluit Ruben van der Meer af met een fragment van Ian McKellen, voor het grotere publiek ook bekend als Gandalf the Grey uit de hitserie van Tolkien. Want om de zwaarheid van de verhalen van Ruben Nicolai en Tijl wat te verlichten, heeft McKellen een prachtig betoog over liefde.

The release of The Critic, a new film starring Ian McKellen and written by Patrick Marber prompts Sarah and Alex to discuss McKellen's passion for theatre, the fortitude of his generation of actors - and the changing face of critics. Are they really this nasty? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sir Ian McKellen didn't mince words in a recent interview, where he called  Elizabeth "bloody rude" and shared some sharp takes on other members of the Royal Family. Despite having met the Queen multiple times and receiving honors from her, including a Companion of Honour in 2007, McKellen recalled a particularly awkward moment. He saidThe Queen, I'm sure she was quite mad at the end. And on the few occasions I met her she was quite rude. When I received a medal for acting [the Companion of Honour in 2008], she said, ‘You've been doing this for an awfully long time.' I said, ‘Well, not as long as you.' I got a royal smile for that, but then she said, ‘Does anyone still actually go to the theatre?' That's bloody rude when you're giving someone a medal for acting. It meant, ‘Does anyone care a (eff) about you because I don't. Now off you go!'Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! Get all our shows on any player you love, hassle free! For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. No plug-ins needed! Subscribe now for exclusive shows like 'Palace Intrigue,' and get bonus content from Deep Crown (our exclusive Palace Insider!) Or get 'Daily Comedy News,' and '5 Good News Stories' with no commercials! Plans start at $4.99 per month, or save 20% with a yearly plan at $49.99. Join today and help support the show! We now have Merch!  FREE SHIPPING! Check out all the products like T-shirts, mugs, bags, jackets and more with logos and slogans from your favorite shows! Did we mention there's free shipping? Get 10% off with code NewMerch10 Go to Caloroga.com Get more info from Caloroga Shark Media and if you have any comments, suggestions, or just want to get in touch our email is info@caloroga.com

This week on the blog, a podcast interview with playwright and screenwriter Jeffrey Hatcher on Columbo, Sherlock Holmes, favorite mysteries and more!LINKSA Free Film Book for You: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cq23xyyt12Another Free Film Book: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/x3jn3emga6Fast, Cheap Film Website: https://www.fastcheapfilm.com/Jeffrey Hatcher Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/jeffrey.hatcher.3/The Good Liar (Trailer): https://youtu.be/ljKzFGpPHhwMr. Holmes (Trailer): https://youtu.be/0G1lIBgk4PAStage Beauty (Trailer): https://youtu.be/-uc6xEBfdD0Columbo Clips from “Ashes to Ashes”Clip One: https://youtu.be/OCKECiaFsMQClip Two: https://youtu.be/BbO9SDz9FEcClip Three: https://youtu.be/GlNDAVAwMCIEli Marks Website: https://www.elimarksmysteries.com/Albert's Bridge Books Website: https://www.albertsbridgebooks.com/YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/BehindthePageTheEliMarksPodcastTRANSCRIPTJohn: Can you remember your very first mystery, a movie, book, TV show, play, a mystery that really captured your imagination? Jeffrey: You know, I was thinking about this, and what came to mind was a Disney movie called Emile and the Detectives from 1964. So, I would have been six or seven years old. It's based on a series of German books by Eric Kastner about a young man named Emile and his group of friends who think of themselves as detectives. So, I remember that—I know that might've been the first film. And obviously it's not a play because, you know, little kids don't tend to go to stage thrillers or mysteries and, “Daddy, please take me to Sleuth.But there was a show called Burke's Law that I really loved. Gene Barry played Captain Amos Burke of the Homicide Division in Los Angeles, and he was very rich. That was the bit. The bit was that Captain Burke drove around in a gorgeous Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, and he had a chauffeur. And every mystery was structured classically as a whodunit.In fact, I think every title of every episode was “Who Killed Cock Robin?” “Who Killed Johnny Friendly?” that kind of thing. And they would have a cast of well-known Hollywood actors, so they were all of equal status. Because I always think that's one of the easiest ways to guess the killer is if it's like: Unknown Guy, Unknown Guy, Derek Jacobi, Unknown Guy, Unknown Guy. It's always going to be Derek Jacobi. John: Yeah, it's true. I remember that show. He was really cool. Jim: Well, now I'm going to have to look that up.Jeffrey: It had a great score, and he would gather all of the suspects, you know, at the end of the thing. I think my favorite was when he caught Paul Lynde as a murderer. And, of course, Paul Lynde, you know, kept it very low key when he was dragged off. He did his Alice Ghostly impersonation as he was taken away.John: They did have very similar vocal patterns, those two.Jeffrey: Yep. They're kind of the exact same person. Jim: I never saw them together. John: You might have on Bewitched. Jim: You're probably right.Jeffrey: Well, I might be wrong about this, either Alice Ghostly or Charlotte Ray went to school with Paul Lynde. And Charlotte Ray has that same sound too. You know, kind of warbly thing. Yes. I think they all went to Northwestern in the late 40s and early 50s. So maybe that was a way that they taught actors back then. John: They learned it all from Marion Horne, who had the very same warble in her voice. So, as you got a little older, were there other mysteries that you were attracted to?Jeffrey: Yeah. Luckily, my parents were very liberal about letting me see things that other people probably shouldn't have. I remember late in elementary school, fifth grade or so, I was reading Casino Royale. And one of the teachers said, “Well, you know, most kids, we wouldn't want to have read this, but it's okay if you do.”And I thought, what's that? And I'm so not dangerous; other kids are, well they would be affected oddly by James Bond? But yeah, I, I love spy stuff. You know, The Man from Uncle and The Wild Wild West, all those kind of things. I love James Bond. And very quickly I started reading the major mysteries. I think probably the first big book that I remember, the first novel, was The Hound of the Baskervilles. That's probably an entrance point for a lot of kids. So that's what comes in mind immediately. Jim: I certainly revisit that on—if not yearly basis, at least every few years I will reread The Hound of the Baskervilles. Love that story. That's good. Do you have, Jeffrey, favorite mystery fiction writers?Jeffrey: Oh, sure. But none of them are, you know, bizarre Japanese, Santa Domingo kind of writers that people always pull out of their back pockets to prove how cool they are. I mean, they're the usual suspects. Conan Doyle and Christie and Chandler and Hammett, you know, all of those. John Dickson Carr, all the locked room mysteries, that kind of thing. I can't say that I go very far off in one direction or another to pick up somebody who's completely bizarre. But if you go all the way back, I love reading Wilkie Collins.I've adapted at least one Wilkie Collins, and they read beautifully. You know, terrifically put together, and they've got a lot of blood and thunder to them. I think he called them sensation novels as opposed to mysteries, but they always have some mystery element. And he was, you know, a close friend of Charles Dickens and Dickens said that there were some things that Collins taught him about construction. In those days, they would write their novels in installments for magazines. So, you know, the desire or the need, frankly, to create a cliffhanger at the end of every episode or every chapter seems to have been born then from a capitalist instinct. John: Jeff, I know you studied acting. What inspired the move into playwriting?Jeffrey: I don't think I was a very good actor. I was the kind of actor who always played older, middle aged or older characters in college and high school, like Judge Brack in Hedda Gabler, those kind of people. My dream back in those days was to play Dr. Dysart in Equus and Andrew Wyke in Sleuth. So, I mean, that was my target. And then I moved to New York, and I auditioned for things and casting directors would say, “Well, you know, we actually do have 50 year old actors in New York and we don't need to put white gunk in their hair or anything like that. So, why don't you play your own age, 22 or 23?” And I was not very good at playing 22 or 23. But I'd always done some writing, and a friend of mine, Graham Slayton, who was out at the Playwrights Center here, and we'd gone to college together. He encouraged me to write a play, you know, write one act, and then write a full length. So, I always say this, I think most people go into the theater to be an actor, you know, probably 98%, and then bit by bit, we, you know, we peel off. We either leave the profession completely or we become directors, designers, writers, what have you. So, I don't think it's unnatural what I did. It's very rare to be like a Tom Stoppard who never wanted to act. It's a lot more normal to find the Harold Pinter who, you know, acted a lot in regional theaters in England before he wrote The Caretaker.Jim: Fascinating. Can we talk about Columbo?Jeffrey: Oh, yes, please. Jim: This is where I am so tickled pink for this conversation, because I was a huge and am a huge Peter Falk Columbo fan. I went back and watched the episode Ashes To Ashes, with Patrick McGowan that you created. Tell us how that came about. Jeffrey: I too was a huge fan of Columbo in the 70s. I remember for most of its run, it was on Sunday nights. It was part of that murder mystery wheel with things like Hec Ramsey and McCloud, right? But Columbo was the best of those, obviously. Everything, from the structure—the inverted mystery—to thw guest star of the week. Sometimes it was somebody very big and exciting, like Donald Pleasence or Ruth Gordon, but often it was slightly TV stars on the skids.John: Jack Cassidy, Jim: I was just going to say Jack Cassidy.Jeffrey: But at any rate, yeah, I loved it. I loved it. I remembered in high school, a friend and I doing a parody of Columbo where he played Columbo and I played the murderer of the week. And so many years later, when they rebooted the show in the nineties, my father died and I spent a lot of time at the funeral home with the funeral director. And having nothing to say to the funeral director one day, I said, “Have you got the good stories?”And he told me all these great stories about, you know, bodies that weren't really in the casket and what you can't cremate, et cetera. So, I suddenly had this idea of a Hollywood funeral director to the stars. And, via my agent, I knew Dan Luria, the actor. He's a close friend or was a close friend of Peter's. And so, he was able to take this one-page idea and show it to Peter. And then, one day, I get a phone call and it's, “Uh, hello Jeff, this is Peter Falk calling. I want to talk to you about your idea.” And they flew me out there. It was great fun, because Falk really ran the show. He was the executive producer at that point. He always kind of ran the show. I think he only wrote one episode, the one with Faye Dunaway, but he liked the idea.I spent a lot of time with him, I'd go to his house where he would do his drawings back in the studio and all that. But what he said he liked about it was he liked a new setting, they always liked a murderer and a setting that was special, with clues that are connected to, say, the murderer's profession. So, the Donald Pleasant one about the wine connoisseur and all the clues are about wine. Or the Dick Van Dyke one, where he's a photographer and most of the clues are about photography. So, he really liked that. And he said, “You gotta have that first clue and you gotta have the pop at the end.”So, and we worked on the treatment and then I wrote the screenplay. And then he asked McGoohan if he would do it, and McGoohan said, “Well, if I can direct it too.” And, you know, I've adored McGoohan from, you know, Secret Agent and The Prisoner. I mean, I'd say The Prisoner is like one of my favorite television shows ever. So, the idea that the two of them were going to work together on that script was just, you know, it was incredible. John: Were you able to be there during production at all? Jeffrey: No, I went out there about four times to write, because it took like a year or so. It was a kind of laborious process with ABC and all that, but I didn't go out during the shooting.Occasionally, this was, you know, the days of faxes, I'd get a phone call: “Can you redo something here?” And then I'd fax it out. So, I never met McGoohan. I would only fax with him. But they built this whole Hollywood crematorium thing on the set. And Falk was saying at one point, “I'm getting pushback from Universal that we've got to do all this stuff. We've got to build everything.” And I was saying, “Well, you know, 60 percent of the script takes place there. If you're going to try to find a funeral home like it, you're going to have all that hassle.” And eventually they made the point that, yeah, to build this is going to cost less than searching around Hollywood for the right crematorium, And it had a great cast, you know, it had Richard Libertini and Sally Kellerman, and Rue McClanahan was our murder victim.Jim: I'll tell you every scene that Peter Falk and Mr. McGoohan had together. They looked to me as an actor, like they were having a blast being on together. Jeffrey: They really loved each other. They first met when McGoohan did that episode, By Dawn's Early Light, where he played the head of the military school. It's a terrific episode. It was a great performance. And although their acting styles are completely different, You know, Falk much more, you know, fifties, methody, shambolic. And McGoohan very, you know, his voice cracking, you know, and very affected and brittle. But they really loved each other and they liked to throw each other curveballs.There are things in the, in the show that are ad libs that they throw. There's one bit, I think it's hilarious. It's when Columbo tells the murderer that basically knows he did it, but he doesn't have a way to nail him. And, McGoohan is saying, “So then I suppose you have no case, do you?” And Falk says, “Ah, no, sir, I don't.” And he walks right off camera, you know, like down a hallway. And McGoohan stares off and says, “Have you gone?” And none of that was scripted. Peter just walks off set. And if you watch the episode, they had to dub in McGoohan saying, “Have you gone,” because the crew was laughing at the fact that Peter just strolled away. So McGoohan adlibs that and then they had to cover it later to make sure the sound wasn't screwed up. Jim: Fantastic. John: Kudos to you for that script, because every piece is there. Every clue is there. Everything pays off. It's just it is so tight, and it has that pop at the end that he wanted. It's really an excellent, excellent mystery.Jim: And a terrific closing line. Terrific closing line. Jeffrey: Yeah, that I did right. That was not an ad lib. Jim: It's a fantastic moment. And he, Peter Falk, looks just almost right at the camera and delivers that line as if it's, Hey, check this line out. It was great. Enjoyed every minute of it. Can we, um, can I ask some questions about Sherlock Holmes now?Jeffrey: Oh, yes. Jim: So, I enjoyed immensely Holmes and Watson that I saw a couple summers ago at Park Square. I was completely riveted and had no, absolutely no idea how it was going to pay off or who was who or what. And when it became clear, it was so much fun for me as an audience member. So I know that you have done a number of Holmes adaptations.There's Larry Millet, a St. Paul writer here and I know you adapted him, but as far as I can tell this one, pillar to post was all you. This wasn't an adaptation. You created this out of whole cloth. Am I right on that? Jeffrey: Yes. The, the idea came from doing the Larry Millet one, actually, because Steve Hendrickson was playing Holmes. And on opening night—the day of opening night—he had an aortic aneurysm, which they had to repair. And so, he wasn't able to do the show. And Peter Moore, the director, he went in and played Holmes for a couple of performances. And then I played Holmes for like three performances until Steve could get back. But in the interim, we've sat around saying, “All right, who can we get to play the role for like a week?” And we thought about all of the usual suspects, by which I mean, tall, ascetic looking actors. And everybody was booked, everybody was busy. Nobody could do it. So that's why Peter did it, and then I did it.But it struck me in thinking about casting Holmes, that there are a bunch of actors that you would say, you are a Holmes type. You are Sherlock Holmes. And it suddenly struck me, okay, back in the day, if Holmes were real, if he died—if he'd gone over to the falls of Reichenbach—people probably showed up and say, “Well, I'm Sherlock Holmes.”So, I thought, well, let's take that idea of casting Holmes to its logical conclusion: That a couple of people would come forward and say, “I'm Sherlock Holmes,” and then we'd wrap it together into another mystery. And we're sitting around—Bob Davis was playing Watson. And I said, “So, maybe, they're all in a hospital and Watson has to come to figure out which is which. And Bob said, “Oh, of course, Watson's gonna know which one is Holmes.”And that's what immediately gave me the idea for the twist at the end, why Watson wouldn't know which one was Holmes. So, I'm very grateful whenever an idea comes quickly like that, but it depends on Steve getting sick usually. Jim: Well, I thoroughly enjoyed it. If it's ever staged again anywhere, I will go. There was so much lovely about that show, just in terms of it being a mystery. And I'm a huge Sherlock Holmes fan. I don't want to give too much away in case people are seeing this at some point, but when it starts to be revealed—when Pierce's character starts talking about the reviews that he got in, in the West End—I I almost wet myself with laughter. It was so perfectly delivered and well written. I had just a great time at the theater that night. Jeffrey: It's one of those things where, well, you know how it is. You get an idea for something, and you pray to God that nobody else has done it. And I couldn't think of anybody having done this bit. I mean, some people have joked and said, it's kind of To Tell the Truth, isn't it? Because you have three people who come on and say, “I'm Sherlock Holmes.” “I'm Sherlock Holmes.” “I'm Sherlock Holmes.” Now surely somebody has done this before, but Nobody had. Jim: Well, it's wonderful. John: It's all in the timing. So, what is the, what's the hardest part about adapting Holmes to this stage?Jeffrey: Well, I suppose from a purist point of view‑by which I mean people like the Baker Street Irregulars and other organizations like that, the Norwegian Explorers here in Minnesota‑is can you fit your own‑they always call them pastiches, even if they're not comic‑can you fit your own Holmes pastiche into the canon?People spend a lot of time working out exactly where Holmes and Watson were on any given day between 1878 and 1930. So, one of the nice things about Holmes and Watson was, okay, so we're going to make it take place during the three-year interregnum when Holmes is pretending to be dead. And it works if you fit Holmes and Watson in between The Final Problem and The Adventure of the Empty House, it works. And that's hard to do. I would say, I mean, I really love Larry Millett's book and all that, but I'm sure it doesn't fit, so to speak. But that's up to you to care. If you're not a purist, you can fiddle around any old way you like. But I think it's kind of great to, to, to have the, the BSI types, the Baker Street Irregular types say, “Yes, this clicked into place.”Jim: So that's the most difficult thing. What's the easiest part?Jeffrey: Well, I think it's frankly the language, the dialogue. Somebody pointed out that Holmes is the most dramatically depicted character in history. More than Robin Hood, more than Jesus Christ. There are more actor versions of Holmes than any other fictional character.We've been surrounded by Holmes speak. Either if we've read the books or seen the movies or seen any of the plays for over 140 years. Right. So, in a way, if you're like me, you kind of absorb that language by osmosis. So, for some reason, it's very easy for me to click into the way I think Holmes talks. That very cerebral, very fast, sometimes complicated syntax. That I find probably the easiest part. Working out the plots, you want them to be Holmesian. You don't want them to be plots from, you know, don't want the case to be solved in a way that Sam Spade would, or Philip Marlowe would. And that takes a little bit of work. But for whatever reason, it's the actor in you, it's saying, all right, if you have to ad lib or improv your way of Sherlock Holmes this afternoon, you know, you'd be able to do it, right? I mean, he really has permeated our culture, no matter who the actor is.Jim: Speaking of great actors that have played Sherlock Holmes, you adapted a movie that Ian McKellen played, and I just watched it recently in preparation for this interview.Having not seen it before, I was riveted by it. His performance is terrific and heartbreaking at the same time. Can we talk about that? How did you come to that project? And just give us everything.Jeffrey: Well, it's based on a book called A Slight Trick of the Mind by Mitch Cullen, and it's about a very old Sherlock Holmes in Surrey, tending to his bees, as people in Holmesland know that he retired to do. And it involves a couple of cases, one in Japan and one about 20 years earlier in his life that he's trying to remember. And it also has to do with his relationship with his housekeeper and the housekeeper's son. The book was given to me by Anne Carey, the producer, and I worked on it probably off and on for about five years.A lot of time was spent talking about casting, because you had to have somebody play very old. I remember I went to meet with Ralph Fiennes once because we thought, well, Ralph Fiennes could play him at his own age,‑then probably his forties‑and with makeup in the nineties.And Ralph said‑Ralph was in another film that I'd done‑and he said, “Oh, I don't wear all that makeup. That's just far too much.” And I said, “Well, you did in Harry Potter and The English Patient, you kind of looked like a melted candle.” And he said, “Yes, and I don't want to do that again.” So, we always had a very short list of actors, probably like six actors in the whole world And McKellen was one of them and we waited for him to become available And yeah, he was terrific. I'll tell you one funny story: One day, he had a lot of prosthetics, not a lot, but enough. He wanted to build up his cheekbones and his nose a bit. He wanted a bit, he thought his own nose was a bit too potatoish. So, he wanted a more Roman nose. So, he was taking a nap one day between takes. And they brought him in, said, “Ian, it's time for you to do the, this scene,” and he'd been sleeping, I guess, on one side, and his fake cheek and his nose had moved up his face. But he hadn't looked in the mirror, and he didn't know. So he came on and said, “Very well, I'm all ready to go.” And it was like Quasimodo.It's like 5:52 and they're supposed to stop shooting at six. And there was a mad panic of, Fix Ian's face! Get that cheekbone back where it's supposed to be! Knock that nose into place! A six o'clock, we go into overtime!” But it was very funny that he hadn't noticed it. You kind of think you'd feel if your own nose or cheekbone had been crushed, but of course it was a makeup. So, he didn't feel anything. Jim: This is just the, uh, the actor fan boy in me. I'm an enormous fan of his work straight across the board. Did you have much interaction with him and what kind of fella is he just in general?Jeffrey: He's a hoot. Bill Condon, the director, said, “Ian is kind of methody. So, when you see him on set, he'll be very decorous, you know, he'll be kind of like Sherlock Holmes.” And it was true, he goes, “Oh, Jeffrey Hatcher, it's very good to meet you.” And he was kind of slow talking, all that. Ian was like 72 then, so he wasn't that old. But then when it was all over, they were doing all those--remember those ice Dumps, where people dump a tub of ice on you? You have these challenges? A the end of shooting, they had this challenge, and Ian comes out in short shorts, and a bunch of ballet dancers surrounds him. And he's like, “Alright, everyone, let's do the ice challenge.” And, he turned into this bright dancer. He's kind of a gay poster boy, you know, ever since he was one of the most famous coming out of the last 20 some years. So, you know, he was suddenly bright and splashy and, you know, all that old stuff dropped away. He has all of his headgear at his house and his townhouse. He had a party for us at the end of shooting. And so, there's a Gandalf's weird hat and there's Magneto's helmet, you know, along with top hats and things like that. And they're all kind of lined up there. And then people in the crew would say, can I take a picture of you as Gandalf? “Well, why, of course,” and he does all that stuff. So no, he's wonderful. Jim: You do a very good impression as well. That was great. Now, how did you come to the project, The Good Liar, which again, I watched in preparation for this and was mesmerized by the whole thing, especially the mystery part of it, the ending, it was brilliant.How did you come to that project?Jeffrey: Well, again, it was a book and Warner Brothers had the rights to it. And because Bill and I had worked on Mr. Holmes--Bill Condon--Bill was attached to direct. And so I went in to talk about how to adapt it.This is kind of odd. It's again based in McKellen. In the meeting room at Warner Brothers, there was a life size version of Ian as Gandalf done in Legos. So, it was always, it'll be Ian McKellen and somebody in The Good Liar. Ian as the con man. And that one kind of moved very quickly, because something changed in Bill Condon's schedule. Then they asked Helen Mirren, and she said yes very quickly.And it's a very interesting book, but it had to be condensed rather a lot. There's a lot of flashbacks and going back and forth in time. And we all decided that the main story had to be about this one con that had a weird connection to the past. So, a lot of that kind of adaptation work is deciding what not to include, so you can't really be completely faithful to a book that way. But I do take the point with certain books. When my son was young, he'd go to a Harry Potter movie, and he'd get all pissed off. Pissed off because he'd say Dobby the Elf did a lot more in the book.But if it's a book that's not quite so well-known—The Good Liar isn't a terribly well-known book, nor was A Slight Trick of the Mind--you're able to have a lot more room to play. Jim: It's a very twisty story. Now that you're talking about the book, I'll probably have to go get the book and read it just for comparison. But what I saw on the screen, how did you keep it--because it was very clear at the end--it hits you like a freight train when it all sort of unravels and you start seeing all of these things. How did you keep that so clear for an audience? Because I'll admit, I'm not a huge mystery guy, and I'm not the brightest human, and yet I was able to follow that story completely.Jeffrey: Well, again, I think it's mostly about cutting things, I'm sure. And there are various versions of the script where there are a lot of other details. There's probably too much of one thing or another. And then of course, you know, you get in the editing room and you lose a couple of scenes too. These kinds of things are very tricky. I'm not sure that we were entirely successful in doing it, because you say, which is more important, surprise or suspense? Hitchcock used to have that line about, suspense is knowing there's a bomb under the table. And you watch the characters gather at the table. As opposed to simply having a bomb blow up and you didn't know about it.So, we often went back and forth about Should we reveal that the Helen Mirren character knows that Ian's character is doing something bad? Or do we try to keep it a secret until the end? But do you risk the audience getting ahead of you? I don't mind if the audience is slightly ahead. You know, it's that feeling you get in the theater where there's a reveal and you hear a couple of people say, “Oh, I knew it and they guessed it may be a minute before. But you don't want to get to the point where the audience is, you know, 20 minutes or a half an hour ahead of you.Jim: I certainly was not, I was not in any way. It unfolded perfectly for me in terms of it being a mystery and how it paid off. And Helen Mirren was brilliant. In fact, for a long time during it, I thought they were dueling con men, the way it was set up in the beginning where they were both entering their information and altering facts about themselves.I thought, “Oh, well, they're both con men and, and now we're going to see who is the better con man in the end.” And so. when it paid off. In a way different sort of way, it was terrific for me. Absolutely. Jeffrey: Well, and I thank you. But in a way, they were both con men. Jim: Yes, yes. But she wasn't a professional con man.Jeffrey: She wasn't just out to steal the money from him. She was out for something else. She was out for vengeance. Jim: Yes. Very good. Very, if you haven't seen it, The Good Liar folks, don't wait. I got it on Amazon prime and so can you.Jeffrey: I watched them do a scene, I was over there for about five days during the shooting.And watching the two of them work together was just unbelievable. The textures, the tones, the little lifts of the eyebrow, the shading on one word versus another. Just wonderful, wonderful stuff. Jim: Yeah. I will say I am a huge Marvel Cinematic Universe fan along with my son. We came to those together and I'm a big fan of that sort of movie. So I was delighted by this, because it was such a taut story. And I was involved in every second of what was going on and couldn't quite tell who the good guys were and who the bad guys were and how is this going to work and who's working with who?And it was great. And in my head, I was comparing my love for that sort of big blow it up with rayguns story to this very cerebral, internal. And I loved it, I guess is what I'm saying. And, I am, I think, as close to middle America as you're going to find in terms of a moviegoer. And I thought it was just dynamite. Jeffrey: It was very successful during the pandemic--so many things were when people were streaming--but it was weirdly successful when it hit Amazon or Netflix or whatever it was. And, I think you don't have to be British to understand two elderly people trying to find a relationship. And then it turns out that they both have reasons to hate and kill each other. But nonetheless, there is still a relationship there. So, I pictured a lot of lonely people watching The Good Liar and saying, “Yeah, I'd hang out with Ian McKellen, even if he did steal all my money.” John: Well, speaking of movies, I am occasionally handed notes here while we're live on the air from my wife. And she wants you to just say something about the adaptation you did of your play, Stage Beauty, and what that process was like and how, how that process went.Jeffrey: That was terrific because, primarily Richard Eyre--the director who used to run the National Theater and all that--because he's a theater man and the play's about theater. I love working with Bill Condon and I've loved working with Lassa Hallstrom and other people, but Richard was the first person to direct a film of any of my stuff. And he would call me up and say, “Well, we're thinking of offering it to Claire Danes.” or we're thinking…And usually you just hear later, Oh, somebody else got this role. But the relationship was more like a theater director and a playwright. I was there on set for rehearsals and all that.Which I haven't in the others. No, it was a wonderful experience, but I think primarily because the, the culture of theater saturated the process of making it and the process of rehearsing it and—again--his level of respect. It's different in Hollywood, everybody's very polite, they know they can fire you and you know, they can fire you and they're going to have somebody else write the dialogue if you're not going to do it, or if you don't do it well enough. In the theater, we just don't do that. It's a different world, a different culture, different kind of contracts too. But Richard really made that wonderful. And again, the cast that he put together: Billy Crudup and Claire and Rupert Everett and Edward Fox and Richard Griffiths. I remember one day when I was about to fly home, I told Richard Griffiths what a fan Evan-- my son, Evan--was of him in the Harry Potter movie. And he made his wife drive an hour to come to Shepperton with a photograph of him as Mr. Dursley that he could autograph for my son. John: Well, speaking of stage and adaptations, before we go into our lightning round here, you did two recent adaptations of existing thrillers--not necessarily mysteries, but thrillers--one of which Hitchcock made into a movie, which are Dial M for Murder and Wait Until Dark. And I'm just wondering what was that process for you? Why changes need to be made? And what kind of changes did you make?Jeffrey: Well, in both cases, I think you could argue that no, changes don't need to be made. They're wildly successful plays by Frederick Knott, and they've been successful for, you know, alternately 70 or 60 years.But in both cases, I got a call from a director or an artistic director saying, “We'd like to do it, but we'd like to change this or that.” And I'm a huge fan of Frederick Knott. He put things together beautifully. The intricacies of Dial M for Murder, you don't want to screw around with. And there are things in Wait Until Dark having to do just with the way he describes the set, you don't want to change anything or else the rather famous ending won't work. But in both cases, the women are probably not the most well drawn characters that he ever came up with. And Wait Until Dark, oddly, they're in a Greenwich Village apartment, but it always feels like they're really in Westchester or in Terre Haute, Indiana. It doesn't feel like you're in Greenwich Village in the 60s, especially not in the movie version with Audrey Hepburn. So, the director, Matt Shackman, said, why don't we throw it back into the 40s and see if we can have fun with that. And so it played out: The whole war and noir setting allowed me to play around with who the main character was. And I know this is a cliche to say, well, you know, can we find more agency for female characters in old plays or old films? But in a sense, it's true, because if you're going to ask an actress to play blind for two hours a night for a couple of months, it can't just be, I'm a blind victim. And I got lucky and killed the guy. You've got a somewhat better dialogue and maybe some other twists and turns. nSo that's what we did with Wait Until Dark. And then at The Old Globe, Barry Edelstein said, “well, you did Wait Until Dark. What about Dial? And I said, “Well, I don't think we can update it, because nothing will work. You know, the phones, the keys. And he said, “No, I'll keep it, keep it in the fifties. But what else could you What else could you do with the lover?”And he suggested--so I credit Barry on this--why don't you turn the lover played by Robert Cummings in the movie into a woman and make it a lesbian relationship? And that really opened all sorts of doors. It made the relationship scarier, something that you really want to keep a secret, 1953. And I was luckily able to find a couple of other plot twists that didn't interfere with any of Knott's original plot.So, in both cases, I think it's like you go into a watch. And the watch works great, but you want the watch to have a different appearance and a different feel when you put it on and tick a little differently. John: We've kept you for a way long time. So, let's do this as a speed round. And I know that these questions are the sorts that will change from day to day for some people, but I thought each of us could talk about our favorite mysteries in four different mediums. So, Jeff, your favorite mystery novel”Jeffrey: And Then There Were None. That's an easy one for me. John: That is. Jim, do you have one?Jim: Yeah, yeah, I don't read a lot of mysteries. I really enjoyed a Stephen King book called Mr. Mercedes, which was a cat and mouse game, and I enjoyed that quite a bit. That's only top of mind because I finished it recently.John: That counts. Jim: Does it? John: Yeah. That'll count. Jim: You're going to find that I am so middle America in my answers. John: That's okay. Mine is--I'm going to cheat a little bit and do a short story--which the original Don't Look Now that Daphne du Murier wrote, because as a mystery, it ties itself up. Like I said earlier, I like stuff that ties up right at the end. And it literally is in the last two or three sentences of that short story where everything falls into place. Jeff, your favorite mystery play? I can be one of yours if you want. Jeffrey: It's a battle between Sleuth or Dial M for Murder. Maybe Sleuth because I always wanted to be in it, but it's probably Dial M. But it's also followed up very quickly by Death Trap, which is a great comedy-mystery-thriller. It's kind of a post-modern, Meta play, but it's a play about the play you're watching. John: Excellent choices. My choice is Sleuth. You did have a chance to be in Sleuth because when I directed it, you're the first person I asked. But your schedule wouldn't let you do it. But you would have been a fantastic Andrew Wyke. I'm sorry our timing didn't work on that. Jeffrey: And you got a terrific Andrew in Julian Bailey, but if you wanted to do it again, I'm available. John: Jim, you hear that? Jim: I did hear that. Yes, I did hear that. John: Jim, do you have a favorite mystery play?Jim: You know, it's gonna sound like I'm sucking up, but I don't see a lot of mystery plays. There was a version of Gaslight that I saw with Jim Stoll as the lead. And he was terrific.But I so thoroughly enjoyed Holmes and Watson and would love the opportunity to see that a second time. I saw it so late in the run and it was so sold out that there was no coming back at that point to see it again. But I would love to see it a second time and think to myself, well, now that you know what you know, is it all there? Because my belief is it is all there. John: Yeah. Okay. Jeff, your favorite TV mystery?Jeffrey: Oh, Columbo. That's easy. Columbo.John: I'm gonna go with Poker Face, just because the pace on Poker Face is so much faster than Columbo, even though it's clearly based on Columbo. Jim, a favorite TV mystery?Jim: The Rockford Files, hands down. John: Fair enough. Fair enough. All right. Last question all around. Jeff, your favorite mystery movie? Jeffrey: Laura. Jim: Ah, good one. John: I'm going to go with The Last of Sheila. If you haven't seen The Last of Sheila, it's a terrific mystery directed by Herbert Ross, written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins. Fun little Stephen Sondheim trivia. The character of Andrew Wyke and his house were based on Stephen Sondheim. Jeffrey: Sondheim's townhouse has been for sale recently. I don't know if somebody bought it, but for a cool seven point something million, you're going to get it. John: All right. Let's maybe pool our money. Jim, your favorite mystery movie.Jim: I'm walking into the lion's den here with this one. Jeffrey, I hope this is okay, but I really enjoyed the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes movies. And I revisit the second one in that series on a fairly regular basis, The Game of Shadows. I thought I enjoyed that a lot. Your thoughts on those movies quickly? Jeffrey: My only feeling about those is that I felt they were trying a little too hard not to do some of the traditional stuff. I got it, you know, like no deer stalker, that kind of thing. But I thought it was just trying a tad too hard to be You know, everybody's very good at Kung Fu, that kind of thing.Jim: Yes. And it's Sherlock Holmes as a superhero, which, uh, appeals to me. Jeffrey: I know the producer of those, and I know Guy Ritchie a little bit. And, I know they're still trying to get out a third one. Jim: Well, I hope they do. I really hope they do. Cause I enjoyed that version of Sherlock Holmes quite a bit. I thought it was funny and all of the clues were there and it paid off in the end as a mystery, but fun all along the road.Jeffrey: And the main thing they got right was the Holmes and Watson relationship, which, you know, as anybody will tell you, you can get a lot of things wrong, but get that right and you're more than two thirds there.

We had so much fun discussing Sir Kenneth Branagh last time that we thought we'd dig into even more ridiculously talented Shakespearean actors!! So this time... we're going with Sir Ian McKellen! (Another knight... are you sensing a theme here?? We certainly are!!)To send us an email - please do, we truly want to hear from you!!! - write us at: thebardcastyoudick@gmail.com To support us (by giving us money - we're a 501C3 Non-Profit - helllloooooo, tax deductible donation!!!) - per episode if you like! On Patreon, go here:  https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35662364&fan_landing=trueOr on Paypal:https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=8KTK7CATJSRYJWe also take cash!   ;DTo visit our website, go here:https://www.thebardcastyoudick.comTo donate to an awesome charity, go here:https://actorsfund.org/help-our-entertainment-communiity-covid-19-emergency-reliefLike us? Don't have any extra moolah? We get it! Still love us and want to support us?? Then leave us a five-star rating AND a review wherever you get your podcasts!!Comic Boom - Comics in EducationAn education podcast exploring the use of comics in education. Each episode I'll be...Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify TREASON: Claus von Stauffenberg and the Plot to kill HitlerIn ten episodes, Treason tells the remarkable and true story of Claus von...Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened up 101-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 22,858 on turnover of 7.2-billion N-T. The Tai-Ex closed at another record high on Tuesday, led by solid gains posted by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing following a rally among tech stocks on Wall Street overnight. T-S-M-C's gains contributed about 180 points to the main board's rise to push both electronics and the semiconductor sub-index higher during the trading day. Weekly COVID Cases Nearly Double The Centers for Disease Control says weekly COVID-19 cases have nearly doubled. Data shows that a total of 623 new locally transmitted cases were reported from between June 11 and 17 - and that's up from 329 cases during the previous week. According to the C-D-C, the rise in domestic cases means that Taiwan is now in the pandemic phase - and mathematical modeling suggests the currently wave will peak in August and September, with a decline (衰退) expected after September. The C-D-C is encouraging people who have not yet received the X-B-B vaccine to get a shot as soon as possible. MOA to Cull Hens Amid Over Supply of Eggs The Ministry of Agriculture says it plans to cull 1.8-million hens on a monthly basis beginning later this month due to an oversupply eggs. The statement comes after a week after the ministry said it will be culling 1.2-million hens per month. According to the ministry, its hoped the move will cut daily egg production to approximately (大約) 120,000 crates, from the current 121,600 crates and will reduce the number of egg-laying hens from the current 35.7-million to between 33 and 34-million. The ministry says it chose to increase the number of hens culled as oversupply issues are continuing, despite the price of eggs dropping to 50 N-T a box at leading supermarket chains. Kim and Putin Meet in Pyongyang The leaders of Russia and North Korea are holding their first summit (會議) in Pyongyang in 24 years. Russian president Vladimir Putin arrived to a hug and handshake from his counterpart Kim Jong-un on Wednesday. Chris Gilbert reports. McKellen Looks Forward to Returning to Work After Fall Veteran actor Ian McKellen says he is looking forward to returning to work after toppling off a London stage during a play and being hospitalized. The 85-year-old actor known for playing Gandalf in the “Lord of the Rings” said on Tuesday that doctors had assured (保證) him his recovery would be “complete and speedy.” The actor said he was looking forward to returning to work. McKellen was playing John Falstaff in a production of “Player Kings” when he fell at the Noel Coward Theatre on Monday. The theater was evacuated (疏散) and the play was canceled. McKellen is one of Britain's most acclaimed Shakespearean actors, with roles including Richard III, Macbeth and King Lear. That was the I.C.R.T. news, Check in again tomorrow for our simplified version of the news, uploaded every day in the afternoon. Enjoy the rest of your day, I'm _____. －－－－以下訊息由 SoundOn 動態廣告贊助商提供－－－－ 迎接十年一遇的存債良機，富養自己不是夢！ 中信優息投資級債【00948B】有「平準金」及「月配息」，小資也能輕鬆跟隊，【00948B】投資就是發！ 一同「債」現王者新高度，詳細資訊請見： https://bit.ly/3y7XL7A

Tom Brady is using AI for announcing football games, Ian McKellen is OK! and Def Leppard have a brand new song featuring Tom Morello. 

Whitey and Damo are joined by Jeff from MCU's Bleeding Edge and they go head first into Middle Earth again for the Two Towers"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" is a cinematic masterpiece that continues the epic journey begun in "The Fellowship of the Ring." Directed by Peter Jackson, this second instalment in the trilogy is a compelling blend of fantasy, adventure, and drama, set in the richly imagined world of Middle-earth.The film opens where the first left off, with the Fellowship scattered. Its members are now divided into three groups, each facing their own challenges. Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) pursue the Uruk-hai to rescue Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd). Meanwhile, Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) continue their perilous journey to Mordor, guided by the treacherous Gollum (Andy Serkis). The third narrative thread follows the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen), believed dead, as he returns in a new guise to aid the people of Rohan against the forces of Saruman (Christopher Lee).The film excels in expanding the scope of Middle-earth, introducing new landscapes and cultures. The kingdom of Rohan, with its horse-lords and majestic halls, is a standout, beautifully realized with a keen eye for detail. The besieged city of Helm's Deep, where much of the film's action converges, is a marvel of set design and visual effects, providing a backdrop for one of the most spectacular battle scenes in cinema history.Jackson's direction is both grand and intimate. He masterfully balances large-scale battles with quieter moments of character development. The film's pacing is excellent, interweaving the various storylines seamlessly and keeping the audience engaged throughout its three-hour runtime.The cast delivers outstanding performances. Mortensen's Aragorn is both regal and rugged, embodying the reluctant hero with a sense of gravity and depth. McKellen's Gandalf is a source of wisdom and strength, while Serkis's groundbreaking performance as Gollum is both pitiable and unsettling. The CGI character of Gollum, a blend of animation and performance capture, was a significant achievement for its time and remains a high point in the use of digital characters in film.Howard Shore's score is another highlight. His music perfectly complements the on-screen action, enhancing the emotional resonance of each scene. The themes introduced in the first film are expanded upon here, with new motifs that reflect the evolving narrative.The adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's work is respectful and inventive. While changes were made for cinematic purposes, they serve the story well, maintaining the spirit of the source material. The screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair, and Jackson is a careful balancing act of staying true to Tolkien's vision while making the story accessible and engaging for a modern audience.The visual effects are groundbreaking. The integration of practical effects and CGI creates a believable, immersive world. The Battle of Helm's Deep, in particular, showcases this blend to stunning effect. The use of forced perspective, miniatures, and digital effects to create the various races of Middle-earth is seamless and convincing.The Two Towers also delves deeper into the themes of power, corruption, and redemption. The film explores the seductive nature of power through the characters of Saruman and Gollum. Saruman's fall from grace and Gollum's internal struggle with his 'Smeagol' persona are poignant illustrations of these themes. The film also examines the bonds of friendship and the resilience of the human (and hobbit) spirit in the face of overwhelming adversity.The movie is not without its flaws. Some fans of the books may take issue with the changes and omissions in the adaptation. Additionally, the film's middle position in the trilogy means it lacks a true beginning and end, potentially leaving some viewers unsatisfied. However, these are minor critiques in an otherwise outstanding film."The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" is a triumph of filmmaking. It is a rare sequel that not only lives up to its predecessor but also deepens and enriches the overarching narrative. The film combines a strong story, well-developed characters, impressive visuals, and a magnificent score to create an unforgettable cinematic experience. It is a testament to the power of storytelling and the potential of the fantasy genre. For fans of Tolkien, cinema, or just great storytelling, "The Two Towers" is an essential film that continues to resonate and inspire.Check out The MCU's Bleeding Edge Youtube channel and check out what Jeff, Cyber and Andres have been up to. You might even discover a few episodes where Whitey is strutting his stuff.https://www.youtube.com/@themcusbleedingedgePlease follow the Podcast and join our community at https://linktr.ee/borntowatchpodcast If you are looking to start a podcast and want a host or get guests to pipe in remotely, look no further than Riverside.fmClick the link below https://riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_1&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=matthew

In the Texas state legislature, Christian Democratic Representative James Talarico gave a biblically-based rebuke against a Republican Christian nationalist bill to post the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms — and it went viral. The repeal of the U.K.'s notorious “no promo homo” Section 28 and the opening of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King made mid-December 2003 a joyous season for world-renowned actor Sir Ian McKellen. He greeted the news at an LGBTQ gathering at Premiere House in Wellington, New Zealand (recorded by Hugh Young of Access Radio's GayBC). And in NewsWrap: Uganda's infamous Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 faces a quadruple challenge in the nation's Constitutional Court, Scotland's Gender Recognition Reform Bill loses the first round of its fight for approval from the British government, Jordanian queer activists forced to flee from government persecution, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers vetoes a Republican bill to ban pediatric gender-affirming healthcare, Florida defends school board book bans as the government's right to control libraries, Bucks County, Pennsylvania voters celebrate rescuing their school board from right-wing extremists, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Michael Taylor-Gray and Kalyn Hardman (produced by Brian DeShazor).  All this on the December 11, 2023 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at http://thiswayout.org/donate/

This interview was conducted in Punjabi, please see the transcript below if you would like to follow along in English.   In this episode of Feel It In Your Soul Podcast Angelee sits down with global megastar, and her cousin, Kapil Sharma.   They talk about Kapil's humble upbringing and how he strove to become the superstar he is today. Kapil opens up about his moments of doubt, but ultimately the belief he had in himself to become the King of Comedy.   Kapil had a true make-or-break moment when he could either afford to return home or meet with a television studio. Kapil talks about passion, drive, and trusting yourself - this is truly a story about what it means to Feel It In Your Soul.   In this episode you will hear: Kapil's early life trying to make it as a singer What Kapil did when he realised he could only afford the train fare home How Kapil convinced a TV studio to greenlight his show The time Angelee met Shah Rukh Khan How Kapil Sharma became a household name   Follow Angelee on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angeleesidar/   Kapil Sharma: https://www.instagram.com/kapilsharma/   Feel In Your Soul is a melting pot of amazing conversations and in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs, celebrities, actors, sporting icons, DJs and movie stars. Host Angelee Sidar sits down with her illustrious guests to delve into the true stories and anecdotes of those who have attained impressive levels of success to discover their journey and the key moments where their souls directed them towards their destiny.   00:00:00:12 - 00:00:34:18 Angelee Sidar So welcome to fill in your soul. Everyone who. So today I have a very special guest, someone very close to my heart introducing multi-award-winning comedian, presenter, actor, producer, amazing singer and a wonderful father, a loving husband, doting son, and honestly, a truly inspiring and loving brother. Welcome Kappu (Kapil) Sharma everyone. 00:00:34:20 - 00:00:47:00 Kapil Sharma Thank you. Angelee, for having me on your beautiful show. So let me tell our audience the one thing, that she's my cousin's sister. So in between the show, I will call her Dibi. So don't be that shocked. 00:00:47:20 - 00:00:49:17 Angelee Sidar I think everybody will start calling me Didi. 00:00:50:04 - 00:00:50:19 Kapil Sharma No, no, no. 00:00:53:04 - 00:01:08:05 Angelee Sidar So couple I want to say, first of all, a big, big. Thank you. Thank you. When I called you up and I said couple, I've got this idea in my mind that I want to do. And you said, Of course to do. Of course you can do it. So thank you for giving me the opportunity. 00:01:09:03 - 00:01:10:07 Kapil Sharma I'm so proud of you. Oh. 00:01:11:03 - 00:01:35:09 Angelee Sidar It came. It came in my mind, actually, over lockdown. I really start to think about just from my own personal journey, how things had changed at pivotal times in my life. And I thought, I really want to do a podcast which finds those moments where we listen to our soul and then we go and act on it and we can really change the trajectory of our life. 00:01:36:19 - 00:01:53:21 Angelee Sidar And the first person that came in my mind was you. So thank you for saying that. Honestly, thank you for. So I want to start with short a couple little Nicole couple running around them. Reza. What were you like when you were younger? 00:01:54:09 - 00:01:58:00 Kapil Sharma Both daughter? Well, I mean, to see. 00:01:58:00 - 00:01:59:15 Angelee Sidar Him develop and jump, people. 00:02:00:12 - 00:02:43:17 Kapil Sharma Would love to speak in Tamil in a moment ago on and I'm ready to oh so now I'm ready to is in the actually. So man you better when I'm bored but I mean yeah he madcap us and Carter or Kuki your article district give them a whole you know just regular time. That be three charities immediately be social media that whatever PBB what do you see you got immediately you know so many hospitals get grandma TV the acne to the meaning in the I'm in of my own sure arena yeah so how my generation going to do it peacefully so I'm I had the at a minor party no not the domain assembly itself 00:02:43:20 - 00:03:29:13 Kapil Sharma I just see someone the TV they can not tell it to the batsman may gunning on tell it, others will not tell it. Other uh Bucky Bucky Malcolm But I'm going to make Kappa Mudgee Bert Gay Film School. My school mate Mike. You know, Peak time it up a little bit now, which we didn't tell you but excited for this opportunity that normally that's a but to do so many father comedy you may act as dictator mission one was your brother of promote the but I support bigoted Aggie big school Meghan and Alia a college MC which college maj up to college middle academy The graduation letter on that you submitted the met function? 00:03:29:13 - 00:03:38:19 Kapil Sharma Yep. Kageyama There you go. But don't get too many other should do that so but here you to literally she's a girl but only got mama Angelique and jellyfish over bones get. 00:03:40:20 - 00:03:51:17 Angelee Sidar A thank you cover but I. I remember like also when that came out Fiji my three Punjabi very Hindi is like fluently Hindi like you see. 00:03:52:05 - 00:03:54:20 Kapil Sharma Another good looking. 00:03:55:16 - 00:04:01:14 Angelee Sidar Guy like you see like with my c g She loves singing. Do you think you got your musicality from her? 00:04:02:13 - 00:04:15:09 Kapil Sharma Actually guess. I mean, actually my media up and I had a musical Elder Sean Garner Yeah, all the cats he goes here for the Richie guys I'm in Punjabi, not for mommy. He got to listen. Give me. 00:04:15:10 - 00:04:15:14 Angelee Sidar The. 00:04:16:05 - 00:04:16:12 Kapil Sharma Leverage. 00:04:16:17 - 00:04:17:04 Angelee Sidar Yeah. 00:04:17:12 - 00:04:34:09 Kapil Sharma They meaning bus men, women will take on this one now at the one given a TV show which I'll get on, but I met him Monday That show minimum producer Mike for Google and digital magic. But bunch of my minions need to go in agony because I that the the lead the monumental video on the show Ogunlesi minute on. 00:04:35:17 - 00:04:36:03 Angelee Sidar Both Sony. 00:04:36:16 - 00:05:01:03 Kapil Sharma And Lala the met to look at a cute lead the new Lionel Mitchell two things are different that Bella what could you me now so I think huh you're not to to question whichever key key or the men on Netflix takes that look what is it you're mad is it going to get this lucky giraffe dreams he got him artist But now you share the miracle little dream music. 00:05:01:03 - 00:05:33:03 Kapil Sharma I made a father dream dreams ago. You know, all Mad men, no matter the quality, whichever don't have an opinion which photographs the Kenya. Yeah. Which all black identity. Oh, you go to measure the result of father we are to stay that the luggage of the refugees coming and call it a bit of songs by disparate guitar human folk from I admire the question Lindsay nitty to Sammy did the he played the piano I play the cake and give it articulate analogy they play they key to fail me and get with them. 00:05:33:03 - 00:05:34:17 Kapil Sharma Every artist here, maybe two. 00:05:35:16 - 00:05:35:22 Angelee Sidar Or. 00:05:35:22 - 00:05:36:09 Kapil Sharma All dream. 00:05:36:18 - 00:05:37:12 Angelee Sidar No, that's. 00:05:37:12 - 00:06:18:22 Kapil Sharma All fear all I think or dream or not obviously. Go get the nugget, the mirror, he said. Jockey. So momentum going back long cigar mamu dirty and a lot of them that much but opposite in a lot of this ego to me facilitating invisibility give anything like this a little bit good to have somebody the man bring it on and it cannot be made a shoulder which would be a surgical midwife did not so marital comedy to make it been Mary Mahbubani Joe the opening I me I think the undemanding massively the all good then I get the Mario shoulder which it to be another on the give you the necessary just study upbringings are 00:06:18:22 - 00:06:21:24 Kapil Sharma be we did this early Jeremy Jose all the. 00:06:22:12 - 00:06:22:23 Angelee Sidar And g. 00:06:23:09 - 00:06:36:24 Kapil Sharma Subdue personality duties on the any it's also figures of the whole community gone but younger or maybe mom and father of Bush oxycodone. But the artist shared how obviously being near there huh so. 00:06:38:11 - 00:06:45:12 Angelee Sidar No no no, absolutely not. In fact many other I remember when I first came to India. 00:06:46:00 - 00:06:52:02 Kapil Sharma It was, you know, the airport, the tricky to figure to either go to America really believes it straight. I was there. 00:06:53:07 - 00:07:21:05 Angelee Sidar Let's see. The London Open Job by Mary Bailey like experience was not in a city, Delhi or Mumbai. It was straight to Punjab, right? So to the my eyes, my first time in India, first time meeting my family. Right. And one thing that I really remember was the love. There was so much love there, even though I met for the first time when I was 24, when we other like Pooja, had a picture of me when I was a teenager. 00:07:21:05 - 00:07:41:06 Angelee Sidar I think my nanny Ma brought it and she had it in a room. She goes into the day, I have got your picture and we know and none of the jerk, even though was so appalled. Yeah, we live thousands of miles away. Still yours when the air. You think that's my family there? The other thing I remember is that we stayed at your house for a bit, and then we stayed in a hotel. 00:07:41:06 - 00:08:02:03 Angelee Sidar And I remember that you said, I'm going to bring some of my friends and we were going to with your band and you came with your bond and you were so good. Honestly, I mean, Sita, we sat there and went, Oh my God, so good, right? And then you said, Did you know somebody in London or what? You asked my mum What? 00:08:02:03 - 00:08:22:20 Angelee Sidar You don't look at that sun. But, but I could see that you had this thing in your I get I'll knock on as many doors as I need to, but I'm so like, laser focused, like this is what I want. Where did that come from? Where did that feeling come from, that or that kind of mindset that you're so focused? 00:08:23:14 - 00:08:44:19 Kapil Sharma Do the actor up on the If you do, we got too much on the map and if father on the job they were police the job any tank less job it agreed official shooting you know not even Sunday or even Diwali. Wow But mentally that could have been a bit of a joke. Family dinner. From there, we can see Bardem there. 00:08:45:03 - 00:09:06:20 Kapil Sharma Many other guys are definitely there which could be jump this thing Ibaka because I love Yahoo data, but the actual team is really good. Okay, Google dating year we're going to but then in that you got island off etc. so a minute ago key Monoshock so you're gonna feed Colette your community traditional to the middle of Gujarat. 00:09:07:05 - 00:09:07:11 Angelee Sidar You. 00:09:08:02 - 00:09:19:14 Kapil Sharma Get the delays we didn't come to deliver you we can let you do otherwise couldn't couldn't come was only as in ghetto so iqoo shark. This is a good jiggle to see. But your focus. 00:09:20:08 - 00:09:20:16 Angelee Sidar Yeah. 00:09:20:18 - 00:09:53:07 Kapil Sharma Keep Diana so I think Merkel option going easy. Gilkey There you got him. And you've got the North Korean city government, your military village of mislabeling, cholera and now competition. I mean, population is elegant region for me, no, but that's a good business to handle. And he did temper but I got to give you compared to the a nerve which we're not going to give you the broom but thanks every time that option is and you did a really job and I think we should be the one holding the Yeah. 00:09:53:15 - 00:10:26:04 Kapil Sharma The memory is you in like Italy. Erdogan I get one minute but I think I'm a little put you do we got a numbers up he got an hour You know the fear bus bomb which are funny those unable to remember the AC in Bombay on AC Milan in Bombay again. So when I first came to me I was 22, 21 to get ready to the minute actually killed because I had only 1200 rupees get a miracle to his he Oh my God, Those are the DNA, the phenomena that gave it. 00:10:26:07 - 00:10:50:18 Kapil Sharma He can do time. Colonel Carla nicknamed the timing of the bomb, which offered up on me. Which, Yes, alluded to keylogger going on. They didn't. She said if we do cornea it, go to the colony. Good job in colony. The time as I started with would you passing But Merkel had cut this up the other medical staff before put out us the fantasy instead of 3%. 00:10:50:18 - 00:10:52:05 Kapil Sharma But here and research on the bus. 00:10:52:08 - 00:10:53:01 Angelee Sidar While. 00:10:53:07 - 00:10:56:01 Kapil Sharma On the road it can get cold. 00:10:56:02 - 00:10:56:16 Angelee Sidar To see. 00:10:57:03 - 00:11:20:18 Kapil Sharma And yeah, it quickly got to see little get in the freezer to come grab Fritzi Charming Nero cash I telling you about the mummy Mary had on high Merriman didn't kill again so people could put the log out evil they but anyways at least you keep on this year could another one Nancy got the news or stop looking which additionally Brittany sure does. 00:11:20:20 - 00:11:28:06 Kapil Sharma Yeah yeah so audition we fear mineral to select guitar you remember by at a minimum integrity. 00:11:28:23 - 00:11:29:11 Angelee Sidar Oh wow. 00:11:29:11 - 00:11:30:14 Kapil Sharma So he's the same producer. 00:11:30:16 - 00:11:32:20 Angelee Sidar That the first time when going on a plane. 00:11:33:10 - 00:11:41:23 Kapil Sharma 2007. Wow they so you know right No he's the same blue said bit Selma little Marco Bonnie do you she has seen. 00:11:41:23 - 00:11:42:18 Angelee Sidar You throughout. 00:11:42:19 - 00:11:55:17 Kapil Sharma The way well showed of it to be able to sort of sing it so huh well somebody from the million dollar field, I think. Jeez, Antonia, is you in the way love below the first. 00:11:56:01 - 00:11:57:11 Angelee Sidar Oh, the first of. 00:11:57:21 - 00:12:07:11 Kapil Sharma The all men. I'd love to tell in Georgia. Bridget. I'm mean, one chance you got resettlement is really to get them petroleum illiterate dreams, particularly, I think so. But I. Here. 00:12:08:04 - 00:12:36:21 Angelee Sidar So actually, I wanted to ask you. So I remember when we left, I'm richer. We see the Legion, Nancy. Right. And then we got to Dili and I was speaking to my mom and she was very upset and I said, Mom, why are you so upset? And I didn't realize that my mother, she wasn't very well at that time, but she, she got very upset and she said and I'm not sure if I'm going to see Blue again. 00:12:37:07 - 00:13:02:19 Angelee Sidar And I remember how upset she got. And I just want to ask you, like, you know, I don't want to make get you upset, but what I do want to ask you is, as a young man, you know, you're in that bay of being 20. You're about to start like thinking about how am I going to do life and all these things of what am I going to plan that you also had so much responsibility and also going through a lot of emotions as well. 00:13:02:19 - 00:13:27:21 Angelee Sidar Personal emotions. Yeah. How did you navigate and how did you use that to kind of almost like use that energy so that you can actually put it even more into where you want to go? Like, you know, for a lot of people they would go maybe to give up or they think get emotionally to kind of like, I'm not going through so much emotion. 00:13:27:21 - 00:13:30:06 Angelee Sidar How do you think you coped with that? 00:13:31:17 - 00:13:59:09 Kapil Sharma Exactly the way my many other coaches engineered meals, how they had wasn't even beer but noodle advocate and not strong giving men who love to look at strong as a well, you know, I remember my father delivered Jed midway to the lottery last into the nice huge together. They admitted to you what they told you to delete in their name. 00:13:59:09 - 00:14:46:01 Kapil Sharma Sorry, but publicly spectacle. This American girl. Suddenly I don't always sleep a second, only to myocardial research has to do with your butt. Or do they? Oh, you know, I think. Yeah. So all. Did you do that? Did that to you know, to the serious series you man or would you do usually so what triggered this a year or anybody like amount was you bacteria or Medicare that you know gentleman that I knew some Milena but I you the carriers fresh pressure not to give you the hospital down on them and for now he up religious of PIMCO religious chairman global hospital to the disability good yeah what do I see huge or they unconsciously 00:14:46:22 - 00:15:18:04 Kapil Sharma the menu idea the larger but free that he can limit upon the time so on and again key players appear he's no more so Medicare I mean look at somebody me I'm a plus amount Korea man temporary retired as a Billy or hospital guy they made the cut that you know citing a former disputing I got really good China do you don't think you can really answer of the bill could any nominal room where we fit made it I think friend I was 21. 00:15:18:04 - 00:16:02:13 Kapil Sharma I don't see of going Maggie but surgery that you the Broadway committee in the academy in Braddock really thought about actually I don't know so many but the little M receptors account of busy months. He got a upstaged he got out. He's got a bill carrier singing. So I know the stage now, buddy. Sorry I stayed the got to me as a year they did not get arrested at of the American music eat the things I love Yeah so man although Cody we don't we can you heavy huh Listen Scott admitted or undeclared you'll get a dose of publicity with and or gunfire emoji Yeah the community on duty. 00:16:03:02 - 00:16:27:03 Kapil Sharma That too is a little tied into it the menu but I don't I It was Kirk. Yeah. You'll get your daddy this and Scott on top of the bracelet those phasing it police like individual police volunteer team and any extra time Sorry the minute you committed to a military man come Isaiah sent me my best argument to come on like a similar job but admitted it in the edges but amazing. 00:16:28:03 - 00:17:12:23 Kapil Sharma Those three? Yeah. He's sorry. Just. This is a good letter, Brandon. As he got the order to get a mental limit on the amount of the dosing, the variability. So anyways at all time of course he go but maybe ma on opening morning Mr. Lucado he'll be strongly he I see the fear be you know body are both here human to look at your time bus Alegria from immediately seem immediately pain between and I stopped over obviously let that be that so because he go but only could be obliterated they the expression me on the targets guess I demand to hear so but only I think the energy but only louder. 00:17:12:24 - 00:17:34:06 Angelee Sidar No no but I do also think there's a lot in that early years of couple kind of going through those early years of you know, the path that you were taking coming to Bombay. But I also think you took on a lot of responsibility as well because, you know, sometimes you start something, you see Jello even then getting on that. 00:17:34:14 - 00:17:52:09 Angelee Sidar But I think that focus that came is that you were like, this has to work. This has to work because I've got a lot of people, a lot of my, you know, that are close to my heart that are depending on me. And if I do this, it's not just going to affect my life, it's going to affect everyone's life, but. 00:17:52:23 - 00:17:53:19 Kapil Sharma This will help curb that. 00:17:53:20 - 00:17:54:24 Angelee Sidar Yeah, it's so true. 00:17:55:04 - 00:18:21:05 Kapil Sharma So do mentally believe me go to get you the easiest to the merits initiative. Uh, the other side. The solution that I. Yeah. Or what? Sorry, not pledge a bunch of cash legos you can put other up something about what? Again, it is harder than any of the other, but only kid. I manage it. But you had you do maybe sister the engagement now or the engagement to the way out of it. 00:18:21:05 - 00:18:26:23 Kapil Sharma Just one within a miracle. That's nothing strong there. You know, you're starting to cheer me up. 00:18:27:08 - 00:18:27:14 Angelee Sidar And. 00:18:27:21 - 00:18:51:00 Kapil Sharma Cheer me to the beach, which many will actually reality show do it. But we many, many shows like we should all be so prepared available online. 30 minutes to go over there. So do the iPad. You I, I and that is that I put only I already Katie but I made the arrangement to get by me and I sadly family there's summer delicacy you know. 00:18:51:05 - 00:18:51:20 Angelee Sidar Yeah. 00:18:51:20 - 00:19:01:21 Kapil Sharma The media side it is there but of course I guess you go get TV there I really don't care but I think of my own getting my own. Get it? And I want to let you do so. ORMAN Lucky, huh? 00:19:02:04 - 00:19:03:04 Angelee Sidar That was the universe. 00:19:04:02 - 00:19:05:16 Kapil Sharma I'm lucky to get it up. 00:19:06:09 - 00:19:06:15 Angelee Sidar And. 00:19:07:13 - 00:19:09:03 Kapil Sharma Get back and become great in the evening a. 00:19:09:06 - 00:19:09:15 Angelee Sidar Hundred. 00:19:09:15 - 00:19:11:02 Kapil Sharma Percent on the other. I don't. 00:19:13:01 - 00:19:33:21 Angelee Sidar Understand. Okay, So I want to get into the mindset of Kapil Sharma. Right. So when you were in Bombay and you've done the laughter challenge and you've won some awards, what was your kind of like? You know, it's a very competitive industry. Did you always are you the kind of person that thinks, How am I going to do this? 00:19:33:21 - 00:19:56:06 Angelee Sidar There's so much competition, or do you just think I'm just going to go out and do my best being in that set? Do you look at, do I have to be better than this person? Or how do I you know, there's so many people, how am I going to be seen? What is your mindset? Because I'm thinking of, you know, that person who's starting out, You know, when you're starting, there's so many people to see sort of map by step guide the level. 00:19:56:12 - 00:20:09:07 Angelee Sidar I'm nobody. Right? How how do you get into that winning mindset of kind of pushing away those negative thoughts and just going through and finding your own voice, you know, in this industry? 00:20:10:06 - 00:20:57:01 Kapil Sharma Julio Lopez Eleanor Go, girl. She'll finish. You're gonna win next year. Live shows till they're British foreign parliament for longer than just the minimum wage. Harvey Milk Remember the past silliness which I was summation by? Yeah, yeah. But. And numbers are getting to be messed up to support other earlier it's industries Yeah Tiger can only can get a commercial he'll join Comedy circus now they will show them chases and look at that to be never president but desperate to get that win for middle learn it but horribly exceeding dosage and paying season jobs in fancy meadows Mendoza's in the bedroom when I got to do figure work you'll remember the favorite to be with the 00:20:57:05 - 00:21:23:14 Kapil Sharma show The bitch leaning, please. The confusion. Carlo, let me I. Cedillo, come. We are our best. Everybody but guilty. Unless he gave him candy directly giving a large costume drama that exceeded our Phygital our next level key the manual to music, which is a key man at the Carolina I showed images struggle to need in the butcher told me when I'm out on a Saturday Myrtle hustle up and make it. 00:21:24:06 - 00:21:49:07 Kapil Sharma I needed to me to make the mandamus the exchange in many meetings based on an American law. One of them in blue, actually hosted a stick dancing show. The make up would be me because of air conditioning. You they got they give us every Mecha here. Get them with the camera. Give me two days. I will come back to you, Sean, if you go. 00:21:49:08 - 00:21:49:17 Angelee Sidar Oh, my. 00:21:49:17 - 00:22:05:21 Kapil Sharma God, I've got to get my list. Well, I mean, look, Commander, stand up menorah. You know, stand up shows. Got to give it to me to cheer to their one interaction. The a big portion of it. Okay. My costume, which we're not compatible. Americana interview. Sorry, Linda. 00:22:05:21 - 00:22:06:08 Angelee Sidar Oh, my God. 00:22:06:19 - 00:22:30:06 Kapil Sharma I love kids. Don't get tired of it, huh? So basically, Georgie, let's take a look at the mic. Okay? The show will open with my stand up. Then we will start costume drama. My dad, they will come. My husband or candy? Very good. Very good. The magic in this weekly banana candy only for 24 to 26 episode. So Baby show, a little bit of show is biweekly. 00:22:30:06 - 00:22:52:23 Kapil Sharma So in a month you have to produce eight episodes. The 30 minute issue. Okay, Megaman does episode orders are meaning me meaning was well episode on there were need bazooka to make them more do sir follow me Look it's an opportunity to service all of the other 24 to do so. Yeah so I'm sure tell us he got on that salary for this. 00:22:53:01 - 00:23:17:00 Kapil Sharma I can do so. Oh, so, man, did he look at the look? It's in a competition. A Maccabee. Really? So Chevy can keep Milwaukee due to see, you know, competition. Sit down and just, you know. Yeah, I know. Until you are able to see in order to look at it not happened here but let them know I don't know. 00:23:17:06 - 00:23:17:24 Angelee Sidar It's so true. 00:23:17:24 - 00:23:29:10 Kapil Sharma To the music of man met comedy community which got a momentum was on that committee but that the element must bring back your vehicle universally. Yeah now I've got. 00:23:29:10 - 00:23:47:08 Angelee Sidar To I totally agree it'll be when you're going to start something on the court. You know when I started my business Jim it but he's such a conservative and then I get I've got you know a business or whatever, you'd never start anything you actually have to which is a really good piece of advice of anybody starting. 00:23:47:08 - 00:24:09:08 Kapil Sharma Out problems on the any limit you give me that the we will not be easy to get past the middle of the best anybody. Yeah that's true sentiment that we of producer be thinking a lot about the producer Dick training on the episode yard limit zero have blue collar bank balance zero Wow You know when I was in instead of my goal yeah yeah. 00:24:09:08 - 00:24:09:16 Angelee Sidar Yeah I. 00:24:09:16 - 00:24:31:09 Kapil Sharma Remember give me like even giving him a depressing evil said if he got well you know or really minutes ago what if it if you love him Let me hear the example Sadako Mike love for Kalima caliber and me get beat. I'm like, Oh, good to give you. But I think what you want me to do schedule in life, I just face that model number. 00:24:31:12 - 00:24:32:07 Angelee Sidar It's so true. 00:24:32:16 - 00:25:12:19 Kapil Sharma They oppose him. The really lucky life to Hanna. But our challenge in the field today, you put a whole model up and that everything you look at me on butter same loan or just same on me. I see Sadako. She's energy. You're beat. Magary Yeah. So live, which is Kamiya. Did you know a youngster? A great video they can give you a liberty Is Carmena almost secured your and you get to develop that repeatable area that was you go look at map filming on and map I mean industrial Eagle Korea if we become what to talk to a hard worker taught our psycho bucket which is smarter we'll get the opinion images out. 00:25:12:19 - 00:25:13:18 Kapil Sharma You know I've got a little bill. 00:25:14:00 - 00:25:38:13 Angelee Sidar And I think your point I'd I'd 100% agree on this. Okay. When you have those moments the setbacks the closed door. Right. The perception of failure. And I think also, you know, it's being Indian. So whether you're an Indian from India or an Indian like me from England. Yeah, British born Indian. Right. We have this thing in us where failure is such a scary thing. 00:25:38:13 - 00:25:57:04 Angelee Sidar You know, from a young boy, you it's almost like people are afraid to fail. But the failure or something not working for us is our the biggest way we grow. Like you couldn't do so much. And then the point that it doesn't work and you find a way around and you come back, that is your biggest growth path, your biggest growth journey. 00:25:57:18 - 00:26:23:10 Kapil Sharma Through doing other up to this are an education system to see England for you and to the education system. Nothing better but education system to which Glasgow but to the morale and not all of this you know Yeah you know if you're in fifth standard you know you have eight subjects or nine subject whatever genuinely to know you have to be good in mathematics, you have to be good in English, you have to be put on a subject runner. 00:26:23:19 - 00:26:44:07 Kapil Sharma I said, You're a teacher, but I'm not subject. But on the side of the expected Kurdistan, studies suggest that another solution to a negative school division so this is illusory is a quote. You can't be talent. It's another marketable noun, but you are with the lucky man. But in life to build up an A-plus according to memory. But academic and now we add to question number I too many. 00:26:44:07 - 00:27:09:18 Kapil Sharma But you know I mean general interest only opportunity schools to engage in not as a forecast we will not only guarantee but at heart a mapping experience looking to give you look we could begin the ICT times ago. I am give judo a scholarship but those are no artist, not among them. You would be a hundred them and you need the data to be able to call this again. 00:27:09:18 - 00:27:32:15 Kapil Sharma You know, it's got a good millennium map or put build up the midterm chuckles. I love that, but I don't know any music anybody commander of rolled up those are committee me and I had a child in the middle as a mega and unique or what they are doing. You look at a party with their party with me, if you look at minimum there. 00:27:32:19 - 00:27:40:11 Angelee Sidar It's so true because I think as well know that time wouldn't people understand? I mean, if you want to be a content creator, it's a job now, you know. 00:27:40:22 - 00:27:41:21 Kapil Sharma Give me opportunities. 00:27:41:21 - 00:28:05:12 Angelee Sidar But there's so many opportunities. But back then, if you didn't fit into the the square box, then it's like a card that we keep. Where is it going to work? Is it too risky? Like, I totally understand that. So to kind of like take us to you know, I came to see you quite a few times. We've had a lot of fun times together, Tony. 00:28:05:12 - 00:28:31:04 Angelee Sidar Other that time that we went to see Shahrukh Khan. I have to talk about that time. I'm the cousin, by the way. Everybody who who turned up at Shah Rukh Khan's house. And I have to say, it wasn't entirely couple's fault because I'd come from London, right? And he goes up because in one of the court and you said I'd, you know, the there's a party on and there's a new film coming out and I said please couple, can we go with that please. 00:28:31:04 - 00:28:34:04 Angelee Sidar Can we go there? And he said, look, do you remember? 00:28:34:05 - 00:28:36:24 Kapil Sharma Yes, of course Milk is on at flicks are like, stand up, go. 00:28:36:24 - 00:28:37:07 Angelee Sidar Yeah. 00:28:37:14 - 00:28:41:08 Kapil Sharma Milk, juice and AC. So yes, she's my cousin. I'm your son. 00:28:42:11 - 00:29:01:10 Angelee Sidar I'm sorry, Mr. SRK. Not so much my. But I've got to say, when we turned up there, right, we were like, first of all, we were very excited. Yeah. And then we got there. The gates are there, and we both looked at each other and went, Oh my God. And then you said, And you did, even though we should have come, right? 00:29:01:10 - 00:29:04:20 Angelee Sidar But by that time, the security man came and he already recognized. 00:29:05:05 - 00:29:06:08 Kapil Sharma Inside you. 00:29:06:18 - 00:29:24:19 Angelee Sidar And he said a champ McKellen done the right to it to bed. I'll say hello, good luck on the movie and everything. Then I'll come back and go, right. So I'm sitting in the car thinking, okay, we should maybe shouldn't of come. Next thing the gates open, the big gates open. Right. And you're walking out like a movie, you know, slow motion. 00:29:25:01 - 00:29:26:16 Angelee Sidar You with Mr. SRK? 00:29:26:21 - 00:29:32:19 Kapil Sharma Oh, God. Oh, a shot of my late father, honestly. 00:29:33:02 - 00:29:34:23 Angelee Sidar And he opened the door, actually. 00:29:34:23 - 00:29:49:05 Kapil Sharma MAN Okay, I'm anti-America by many because of my you you. But one of the classic the to get a good old party. Yeah. Better get a little party. Look, finish your Jacuzzi, get out the time, David. 00:29:50:04 - 00:29:51:06 Angelee Sidar I go with you and I get. 00:29:51:09 - 00:29:58:14 Kapil Sharma To get the capillary because of MECO border. So all in all, Menubar let go up an incredibly too sweet guy. 00:29:58:15 - 00:30:16:11 Angelee Sidar It was so sweet. He opened the door, and the first thing he said was Hi. And you did the coke? Oh, my God. Like, literally, I was like, Oh my God. I opened the door and he goes, Come party with us. And I would let I honestly, I could not believe that moment. I was dressed in side in my Bombay. 00:30:16:19 - 00:30:19:15 Angelee Sidar He could take a get to pull up by a right. 00:30:19:16 - 00:30:20:04 Kapil Sharma No matter who. 00:30:20:17 - 00:30:37:07 Angelee Sidar But yeah, Did you look like some kind of exchange student? Some kind of like you know, backpacker with my trousers on a vest on. It was a full on out cocktail party, right? Everybody was so glamorous. We walked in, we would. 00:30:37:07 - 00:30:39:05 Kapil Sharma Go guest judge because it got taught. 00:30:39:05 - 00:31:08:17 Angelee Sidar I guess you guessed that I dance. You know the dance. We dance on the dance floor. And then at the end, I've got to say, all of us this my dizzy right at the end. And I have to say a special, you know, just going there. When I met Mr. SRK himself and Gauri, they were so lovely, such lovely humans and made us so new saag that time of year I was sitting there going, Is this actually happening? 00:31:09:22 - 00:31:30:02 Angelee Sidar And then at the end of the night we were all talking, it was so chilled and couple. I've got to say that you have this magic of couple, which is you make this level in a room where you feel like it's a safe space, right? No kind of it, you know, kind of like even your, your manner of joking, it's so warm, it's so loving. 00:31:30:19 - 00:31:40:07 Angelee Sidar And we would sit and we were sitting there and I'm not going to ask you how you do that, because I actually think that is the genius of all that. Honestly, that is the genius. 00:31:40:13 - 00:31:43:00 Kapil Sharma Made me look better. Yes. Wonderful. 00:31:43:06 - 00:31:44:11 Angelee Sidar Kiko, I know. 00:31:44:16 - 00:31:45:18 Kapil Sharma Which cancer kept on me. 00:31:46:04 - 00:32:08:02 Angelee Sidar I know. So funny. But you definitely you definitely have that. And I also actually I forgot to talk about which I, I did want to say it was a very proud moment. I went to go and watch this. So many proud moments. You know, as a family member, we've been watching you grow from, you know, of watching you come on our TV in London and we're going this couple and we're getting so, so. 00:32:08:09 - 00:32:09:04 Kapil Sharma Much in memory. 00:32:09:10 - 00:32:12:01 Angelee Sidar Yes. I saw your show in Wembley. You even called us. 00:32:12:16 - 00:32:13:06 Kapil Sharma And I'm sure. 00:32:13:22 - 00:32:34:23 Angelee Sidar Well, I did, but, you know, it got like it bonded us. Then you and you see it and you're on stage and you even give us a shout out. And everyone's like, Anyway, so another thing I wanted to say was on, you know, congratulations on your new movie that you, John Zagato. I went to go and see it and felt him cinema. 00:32:35:03 - 00:32:54:12 Angelee Sidar Anyone who's in London knows that cinema. And I actually went by myself. No, I know my mum and dad, but I turned up by myself and mum and Dad were there and Mommy, Daddy. Right. They had a big like a big bag which I never lost, although luckily I got to see me out. But. And this is in London, right. 00:32:54:12 - 00:33:18:11 Angelee Sidar Well you can't even take your own food in. Anyway, we went and we watched the movie and I felt really that a sense of pride as well, because it was one of those movies where those types of stories, I believe, need to be told. That kind of daily grind that people go through that sometimes we forget about how difficult life can be for people. 00:33:19:06 - 00:33:30:06 Angelee Sidar I thought you were superb in it. I really have to say that. And what made you take on a role like that? Because it was kind of a very unassuming role. 00:33:31:13 - 00:33:59:17 Kapil Sharma Do they actually do it? Credit? Sara Jarman And it does generally see yeah, or you don't map inequality, which we got a dziga at a comedy by chance. We actually met in a serious place, Goldfinger. And on the A by chance, we minamino did the McGarrity Monkey laugh about comedy circus comedy set because after all, we can make political comedy. 00:33:59:17 - 00:34:21:21 Kapil Sharma Film could be music. I mean, a serious any place card that anyone could seriously offer. So I don't know that's your comedy got to do it the the the penultimate Oscar getting a little well the other method man let's meet, huh? We're going to have something for you if you are interested. I can come over and meet among the men. 00:34:22:06 - 00:34:47:09 Kapil Sharma There are serious women on the menu. So would you make any of them believe it? And really good stories, Lena. 50%, the highest, obviously, because she is a very good filmmaker. Yeah, but very the actor we are so at that age, you know, to sleep under the hot Angelina, you're in safe hands. Good Director Gillette and the media eager to give me the fraudulent women's stories. 00:34:47:09 - 00:34:52:19 Kapil Sharma My story with this are but with the eighties I've got to be able. 00:34:53:15 - 00:34:59:17 Angelee Sidar Did you feel like you needed to get into character? How did you get yourself into that character mentally? 00:34:59:20 - 00:35:09:08 Kapil Sharma Helen is great about how I used to work in Coca-Cola and I'm just sort of capturing the loneliness again. But if I told you the maybe. 00:35:09:11 - 00:35:14:23 Angelee Sidar You use those memories, did you kind of like when you about, oh, did you start thinking about and tried to. 00:35:14:24 - 00:36:01:06 Kapil Sharma Be actually nostalgia and you love them? Yeah, all the perfume logic then the other lady to come to see me another the beach come he got to me that's the you know the competitive military come to the NNPC non Nigeria luggage come on they had a deep fragrance the smell dooby girl What do those bastards shoulder guitars you want to look at I a coming out of so you did not tajiri Yeah no liquor to keep petrol smell and of course you want this of Jimmy What speediness must I don't get those film the brand but this Albert in almost about Bombay I'll get the yellow Robin Italia pick up that but all film to 00:36:01:23 - 00:36:16:19 Kapil Sharma watch the can do correctly Mexico say are Magnum made me think we would know that you can say Amir bonded really what they businessmen the big German Punjabi ketchup made these you can a corona but the air will look right through the declares here. 00:36:17:13 - 00:36:46:05 Angelee Sidar And I think that's why people may be asking that question is because you played that role beautifully. It was so beautifully. Honestly, it really was. Okay. So closing tradition on the show, I'm saying tradition did that with any mechanic of. So I, I asked this question because I think the gift of hindsight or experience is a very wonderful thing, right? 00:36:46:21 - 00:37:02:01 Angelee Sidar Wooden experience. I get to see the exact then you can give yourself so much advice, but at the time you have to go through it for the first time yourself. So for some of my younger listeners who are going through something, what advice would you give your younger self. 00:37:05:01 - 00:37:37:01 Kapil Sharma To redeem another lucky jumper? Lukaku Due to the deluge of melodrama, Daniel Spar said he stood out here those earlier. Carlo he did due to the Manchurian Nina, not the ghetto or the jingle. If you're blessed, I'll play my personal sorrows. Other times we're going to give you the metaphor to steal the time. Zilla Yeah. So, Austan, would you like to, uh, banana or the Leo the hero? 00:37:37:01 - 00:38:21:00 Kapil Sharma You know, another billion, the Napoli Life Orchestra, you know, tackle guitar. Give me one classic on your Cher car the other day, Father Bernard So Mary, father of Minorca, says share them the diamond. Mimi Levin So sorry And me talking about the insecure Dhuniya Daddy, do sit here. So how often in Mama one time spend a year? Joe Dalton Which you can there be any MBA or not experience Get out never only carry they don't elevate just go give even the little thought about a little like entertainment visually on their welcome not or religion nicely they're so g to rock the Vienna Well a very sorry you know Saadiyat may match girl dances that we 00:38:21:00 - 00:38:34:07 Kapil Sharma are made Amir Gary Malcolm but the picture the intention with the only so another godly chakra so up and out and did not code Saturday or Kojo so as if we call you there and I you know at the last lecture letter that. 00:38:34:07 - 00:38:35:09 Angelee Sidar So hopefully that. 00:38:35:09 - 00:38:37:05 Kapil Sharma We can not that is. 00:38:37:14 - 00:38:46:05 Angelee Sidar Such beautiful advice that is a true feel it in your soul moment. I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. It's been such a pleasure. Thank you. Thank you so much. 00:38:46:06 - 00:38:46:18 Kapil Sharma Thank you. 00:38:48:12 - 00:38:49:15 Angelee Sidar Thank you. Thank you. 00:38:49:19 - 00:38:50:11 Kapil Sharma Thank you, guys. 00:38:50:17 - 00:38:52:12 Angelee Sidar Thank you guys for making me. 00:38:52:12 - 00:38:53:13 Kapil Sharma I've never. 00:38:54:00 - 00:38:55:07 Angelee Sidar Seen you, so. 00:38:56:16 - 00:38:57:15 Kapil Sharma Thank you. Bye.

Sir Ian McKellen and Roger Allam discuss their new play Frank & Percy at The Other Palace, London. Talking to our culture editors, Nancy Durrant and Nick Clark, Allam describes the show as a 'gay rom com', and McKellen says it ‘will appeal to anyone'. This episode is a cut down version of an in-depth interview from the The Evening Standard Theatre Podcast, to hear the full interview click here. For all the latest news head to standard.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stage and film royalty Sir Ian McKellen and Roger Allam join us this week for their play Frank & Percy at The Other Palace. Allam describes the show as a 'gay rom com' but it ‘will appeal to anyone', says McKellen. This episode is dedicated to an uninterrupted wide-ranging conversation, with the pair covering the audience behaviour, freedom of speech, the sadness and fear around ageing and the price of theatre tickets.Plus, both their appearances in Les Misérables, what they think of Dolly Parton (yes, really), and much more.For all the latest reviews and news head to standard.co.uk/culture/theatre Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Flushed Away is a 2006 computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by Sam Fell and David Bowers, produced by Cecil Kramer, David Sproxton, and Peter Lord, and written by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan and Will Davies. It was the third and final DreamWorks Animation film co-produced with Aardman Features following Chicken Run (2000) and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), and was the first Aardman project mostly made in CGI animation as opposed to starting with their usual stop-motion. The film stars the voices of Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Shane Richie, Bill Nighy, Andy Serkis and Jean Reno. In the film, a pampered pet rat named Roddy St. James (Jackman) is flushed down the toilet in his Kensington apartment by a sewer rat named Sid (Richie), and befriends a scavenger named Rita Malone (Winslet) in order to get back home while evading a sinister toad (McKellen) and his hench-rats (Nighy and Serkis). -- Audiomorphs is an Animorphs podcast which is actually not so much a podcast as a bootleg Animorphs audiobook. Releases every Friday. Visit https://www.theapodcalypse.com/ Twitter: @audiomorphs

Please support the sponsors of today's show by using the links below and using our promo code where applicable for bonus deals! BetterHelp | Professional Therapy With A Licensed Therapist Go To https://www.betterhelp.com/CAMPEA to get 10% off your first month. ExpressVPN | High-Speed, Secure & Anonymous VPN Service Go to https://www.expressvpn.com/campea and get an extra three months free on a one-year package. Mint Mobile | Wireless That's Easy, Online, $15 Bucks A Month Go to https://www.mintmobile.com/campea to get your new wireless phone plan starting at JUST $15 a month. Manscaped | Home Of The Lawn Mower 4.0  Go To https://www.manscaped.com and use code CAMPEA to get 20% off and free shipping. On today's episode: - Apple's Tetris Movie Drops First Trailer - John Wick 4 Final Trailer Released - New Creed 3 Trailer Looks Like The Best Of The Series - Top Gun, 1923, Tulsa King Propel Paramount+ To 77 Million Subs - Flash Switch: Grant Gustin Replaces Ezra Miller At End Of Flash Rumor - The Little Mermaid Trailer Looks Beautiful, Reveals Ursula - Avatar 2 Wins Record Setting 9 Visual Effects Society Awards - How To Train Your Dragon Live Action Film Coming From Original Filmmaker - Magneto And Professor X Back For Deadpool 3 Teases Stewart Become A John Campea Channel Member - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYyDbdaja1UDNdFSwUrYVGA/join  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the first of a new series of interviews with game changers from the world of culture, business, sports and politics, Amol Rajan speaks to actor Sir Ian McKellen.One of the most celebrated performers of his generation, McKellen has long defied convention and expectation. In this probing hour-long interview, Rajan asks the man who played Gandalf about growing up in Lancashire during the Second World War, launching his acting career at Cambridge alongside Derek Jacobi and finally choosing to reveal the truth publicly about his sexuality in 1988. Regularly lauded as the heir to Laurence Olivier, McKellen is just as comfortable analysing the intricacies of Shakespearian drama as he is revealing the debt his X-Men films owe to the civil rights movements. He tells Rajan about what it was like to be part of the first gay kiss on BBC Television in 1970 and mulls on his own mortality in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Welcome back for another electrifying episode of The Sarah Silverman Podcast! Tune in so you don't miss out on all the fun we're having over here! Oh and if you didn't know, Sarah is going LIVE…possibly soon in your city! If you want to see Sarah do some good ol' stand-up check out these dates & cities. Get your tickets here: https://laylo.com/sarahsilverman 2/3: WASHINGTON. DC | THE KENNEDY CENTER 2/4: ATLANTIC CITY, NJ | OCEAN CASINO RESORT 2/10: ATLANTA, GA | SYMPHONY HALL 2/11: CHICAGO, IL | CHICAGO THEATRE 2/23: VANCOUVER, BC (JFL) | QUEEN ELIZABETH THEATRE 2/24: SEATTLE. WA | THE PARAMOUNT 2/25: SAN FRANCISCO, CA | THE MASONIC 3/9: MADISON, WI | ORPHEUM THEATER 3/10: MINNEAPOLIS, MN | STATE THEATRE 3/11: DETROIT, MI | THE FILLMORE DETROIT 3/12: TORONTO, ON | MERIDIAN HALL 3/15: HUNTINGTON, NY | THE PARAMOUNT 3/16: NEW YORK, NY | BEACON THEATRE 3/18: CHARLOTTE, NO | OVENS AUDITORIUM 3/19: DURHAM, NC | CAROLINA THEATRE 3/22: NASHVILLE, TN | RYMAN AUDITORIUM 3/26: MONTCLAIR, NJ | WELLMONT THEATER Thank you to our sponsors! Magic Spoon | https://magicspoon.com/SARAH with promo code SARAH Chime | https://chime.com/SARAH Sundays For Dogs | https://sundaysfordogs.com/SARAH with prom code SARAH Shopify | https://shopify.com/sarah  Want to ask Sarah a question? Leave a voicemail @ https://www.kastmedia.com/MessageSarah Keep up with Sarah on Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/sarahkatesi... and on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/SarahKSilvermanzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the second part of our special extended interview with Sir Ian McKellen, he tells us about some of his most famous roles: playing Macbeth opposite Dame Judi Dench, King Richard III with a screenplay he co-wrote, and Gandalf the Grey in The Lord of the Rings films. McKellen is interviewed by Barbara Bogaev. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published October 25, 2022. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Ben Lauer is the web producer. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. We had technical help from Rob Double at London Broadcast and Andrew Feliciano at Voice Trax West in Studio City, California. Final mixing services provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

He played Hamlet in his thirties… and again in his eighties. In between? Edgar, Romeo, Leontes, Macbeth, Coriolanus, Iago, Richard III, Prospero, and King Lear. Plus, of course, Magneto and Gandalf. On this episode, we talk with Sir Ian McKellan. Last year, he played Hamlet in an age-blind production of the play at the Theatre Royal Windsor, returning to the role for the first time since 1971. Then, at this year's Edinburgh Fringe, McKellen played Hamlet again, speaking the part alongside a ballet dancer in a production directed by Peter Schaufuss. Now, he's is appearing as King Hamlet's ghost in an essay film about the play called Hamlet Within. McKellen joined us from his home in East London for an extended conversation with Barbara Bogaev. In part 1 of our interview, we start by discussing the age-, gender-, and color-blind stage production of Hamlet he starred in last year, directed by Sean Mathias. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published October 11, 2022. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Ben Lauer is the web producer. Leonor Fernandez edits a transcript of every episode, available at folger.edu. We had technical help from Rob Double at London Broadcast and Andrew Feliciano at Voice Trax West in Studio City, California. Final mixing services provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

Welcome back to the 104th episode of episode of The Cup which is our a weekly (give or take, TBD, these are unprecedented times) performing arts talk show presented by Cup of Hemlock Theatre. With the theatres on a come back we offer a mix of both reviews of live shows we've seen and continued reviews of proshot productions! For our 104th episode we bring you a Duet Review of of Ian McKellen on Stage, the titular stage and screen legend's one-man show about his life, career, and relationship to the works of William Shakespeare. Join Mackenzie Horner and Ryan Borochovitz, as they discuss the intersections of high culture and geek culture, the unstable borders of the Shakespearean canon, and McKellen's effervescent charm. Watch the play on NTatHome (subscription needed; available until at least October 15th, 2022): https://www.ntathome.com/ian-mckellen-on-stage Follow our panelists: Mackenzie Horner (Before the Downbeat: A Musical Podcast) – Instagram/Facebook: BeforetheDownbeat Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3aYbBeN Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3sAbjAu Ryan Borochovitz – [Just send all that love to CoH instead; he won't mind!] --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cup-of-hemlock-theatre/support

Brothers Phil & Warren infiltrate the Pentagon to break out actor, comedian, and self-proclaimed comic book movie expert Nick Mayer for a deep dive into the sci-fi superhero action blockbuster “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” Topics include: comic book influences & the making of the movie (5:45), the stars of the picture (16:00), stats & accolades (26:50), best scenes & lines (37:45), Judge Bob's recasting court (57:55), and the film's legacy & lore (1:30:00), plus much more.

Brothers Phil & Warren infiltrate the Pentagon to break out actor, comedian, and self-proclaimed comic book movie expert Nick Mayer for a deep dive into the sci-fi superhero action blockbuster “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” Topics include: comic book influences & the making of the movie (5:45), the stars of the picture (16:00), stats & accolades (26:50), best scenes & lines (37:45), Judge Bob's recasting court (57:55), and the film's legacy & lore (1:30:00), plus much more.

Career Q&A with Ian McKellen. Moderated by Dave Karger. Ian McKellen has been honored with over 50 international acting awards during his half-century on stage and screen. He is treasured worldwide as Magneto in the X-Men films and Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. He first worked with director Bill Condon as James Whale in Gods and Monsters (1998) receiving his first Academy Award® nomination, for Best Actor. The same year, top critics' groups elected him Best Actor, as the Nazi-in-hiding in Bryan Singer's Apt Pupil. For his classic performance in Richard Loncraine's Richard III, which he produced and co-wrote, he was named 1996 European Actor of the Year. His varied list of other renowned films include The Keep (1983); Plenty (1985); Scandal (1988);Six Degrees of Separation (1993); Restoration (1995); Bent (1997); Cold Comfort Farm (1995) andThe Da Vinci Code (2006). On the small screen, McKellen currently stars in the wickedly successful ITV/PBS sitcom Vicious. For his extensive television work, McKellen is a five-time Emmy nominee, most recently for his matchless King Lear (2008); and his comic guest spot on Extras (2006) remembered for the viral catch-phrase: "How do I act so well?" He is most proud of his work as the mentally- handicapped Walter (1982 Royal Television Award) inAnd the Band Played On (1993 Cable Ace Award), about the origins of AIDS and a guest spot in UK's longest-running soap Coronation Street (2005). Born and raised in the north of England, McKellen attended Cambridge University and since 1961 has worked non-stop in the British theatre. He has been leading man and produced plays, modern and classic, for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre of Great Britain and in the West End of London. He has won Olivier Awards for Macbeth (1976-78); The Alchemist (1977); Bent (1979); Wild Honey (1984) and Richard III (1990): plus Evening Standard Awards for Coriolanus (1984) and Othello (1989) and for Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre (2009). In 1981, he won every available award, including a Tony for Best Actor, as Salieri in the Broadway production of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus. He was most recently in New York in No Man's Land and Waiting for Godot after breaking all box-office records in London and on UK and world tours. Over a decade, he toured his solo entertainment Ian McKellen: Acting Shakespeare throughout four continents, where on DVD it is daily viewed in schools and universities. He astonished his fans as Widow Twankey in the Christmas pantomime at the Old Vic in London (2004 & 2005). In 1991 Sir Ian was knighted, for his outstanding contribution to theatre. He is co-founder of Stonewall UK, which lobbies for legal and social equality for gay people. In 2008, the Queen personally appointed him Companion of Honour for his services to drama and to equality.

This week we sit down with professional gravel racer, podcaster and adventurer, Payson McElveen. We learn about his path to the sport, his drive for adventure and his plans for the Life Time Grand Prix and the rest of the races on his calendar. Episode sponsor: Hammerhead Karoo 2 (promo code: THEGRAVELRIDE) Payson McElveen Web / Instagram Support the Podcast Join The Ridership  Automated Transcription, please excuse the typos: Payson McElveen [00:00:00] Craig Dalton: Hello, and welcome to the gravel ride podcast, where we go deep on the sport of gravel cycling through in-depth interviews with product designers, event organizers and athletes. Who are pioneering the sport I'm your host, Craig Dalton, a lifelong cyclist who discovered gravel cycling back in 2016 and made all the mistakes you don't need to make. I approach each episode as a beginner down, unlock all the knowledge you need to become a great gravel cyclist. This week on the podcast. We welcome pacing. McKelvin pacing. As you may know, is a gravel racer, a mountain bike racer. A podcaster, a red bull athlete. And in all around adventurer. I've wanted to have pacing on the podcast for quite some time. I'm an avid listener of his podcast, but moreover, I'm a fan. And that probably comes through in this episode. I'm a fan of pace. And as he's every bit as approachable in real life, as he comes across in social media, He not only races at the front end of the gravel races on the calendar. But even more importantly, I feel like he's out there in the community and he's always after some great adventures. You can see him crisscrossing the country of Iceland. You can see him setting FK teas. You can see them getting brutalized on the Colorado trail and one of his first bike packing expeditions, he's just a hell of a lot of fun and a hell of a great guy. So I look forward to listening to this episode. Of the gravel ride podcast. Before we jump in, we need to thank this week. Sponsor the hammerhead crew to computer. The hammerhead crew to is actually the computer that pacing uses. So you may hear them talk about it, both on his podcast and in social media. His experiences are quite similar to mine. The Karoo two is a revolutionary GPS device that offers the rider. A whole bunch of customizability that really translates to giving you the information you need. When you need it in the format that you need it. I've mentioned before. A few of the things that I really love about the career too, are one, the climber feature. I've become addicted to the climber feature. It's quite amazing. Every time you approach a climb. The crew too, is going to display in graphical format in color coded format. The gradient. The length to the top and the amount of elevation you need to gain. I find that really useful in terms of pacing and it's fascinating. I've always been fascinated by grade. So seeing that great in front of me on the computer, I've started to really understand where my sweet spot is. I know that I'm quite good in the six to say 12% range, but north of 12%, I start to suffer. So it's quite interesting looking at that. The second thing I wanted to highlight is hammerheads bi-weekly software updates with new feature releases. That are unmatched by the competition. So unlike other head units, your crew to continues to evolve and improve. With each ride being better than the last you can seamlessly import routes from Strava commute and more. Route and reroute and create pin drop rooting on the fly. All available with turn by turn. Directions and upcoming elevation changes. The crew two's touchscreen displays, intuitive, responsive, and in full color. So your navigation experience is more like a smartphone than a GPS. You'll see your data more clearly than ever while also withstanding rugged conditions since it's water and scratch resistant. Tens of thousands of cyclists have chosen the crew to you as their trusted riding companion. Including this week's guest pace and mckelvin and another fan favorite amanda naaman. For a limited time, our listeners can get a free custom color kit and an exclusive premium water bottle with the purchase of a hammerhead crew to. Simply visit hammerhead dot. I owe right now and use the promo code, the gravel ride at checkout to get yours today. This is an exclusive limited time offer only for our podcast listeners. So don't forget that promo code, the gravel ride. After you put a custom color kit and premium water bottle in your cart. The code will be applied Would that business out of the way, let's dive right into my interview with pace and McKellen. Payson. Welcome to the show. [00:04:11] Payson McElveen: Thank you happy to be here. [00:04:13] Craig Dalton: Yeah, it's good to finally get you on. I feel like I've been wanting to get you on since back in 2019 and the mid south gravel race. [00:04:21] Payson McElveen: Yeah. Yeah, that was that wasn't my first foray into gravel, but one of the first [00:04:28] Craig Dalton: Yeah. And I think it was one of those moments that it was, you know, there was very much a different style between you and Pete when racing in those adverse conditions, all the mud and whatnot, and how you [00:04:38] Payson McElveen: Oh, 2020. Yeah. [00:04:40] Craig Dalton: 20, 20. Yeah. So babying the bike and. [00:04:44] Payson McElveen: yeah. [00:04:45] Craig Dalton: being a little bit rougher on the bike and you know, both you guys smashed into pedals and I, it's funny, cause I'd heard you interviewed after the fact about that race and I'll refer to the listener back to some coverage there, but you were being, you were very conscious of what mud could have done to your bike. And that was clear in the way you were taking care of it. And I had that thought while I was watching the coverage, like that's smart, dipping it in the water, clearing it out, just being conscious of what is going to do the driver. [00:05:12] Payson McElveen: Yeah. Yeah, that was a boy. That was, I mean, gravel racing is always a dynamic thing and I feel like to varying degrees, just emission of damage control even on dry days. But Yeah. That was such a dynamic damn. Early on even. I mean, I thought my race was over 20 miles in when literally right as I think it was Pete might have been summer hill, actually Danny Summerhill was just absolutely on a mission early in that race too. But someone putting in a attack around mile 20 kind of first narrow section, and literally at the same moment, I got a big stick jammed in my rear wheel and had to stop. Pull it out. And yeah. because that selection was made and I ended up in like the third or fourth group that wasn't moving as quickly right off the bat. I think I had like a minute and a half deficit to to the lead group of P call and, you know, all the usual suspects. And it was pretty convinced that the day was over at that point. But also over the years, I've learned. Gravel racing or not kind of, regardless of the style bike racing when you don't give up good things tend to happen, no matter how dire it seems. And I was fortunate enough to ride back into the first chase group with my teammate at the time Dennis van Wenden, who spent many years on the world tour with Rabobank and Belkin and Israel startup nation, bunch of good teams. And. During that day, there wasn't a whole lot of drafting that was going on. Cause the surface was so slow and there was so much mud and you were just kind of weaving around picking your line, but it was really pivotal to have him to kind of join forces with him there. Because he really quieted me down mentally and he was like, Hey man, if you want to try to get back into this race, you need to do it gradually. Like don't panic, chase, you know, A minute gap. We could probably bring back and 25, 30 minutes, but if you do it over the course of an hour more you know, you can stay below threshold and that'll really pay dividends late. So long story short, I was really grateful to have his kind of Sage wisdom and sure enough, we got back into the group right before the aid station there at mile 50 ish. And I was surprised we got back. Pete and Collin and everybody else was even more surprised to see us come out of the mud from behind. But yeah, that was a member of that was a memorable day and in a weird way, I think getting having that setback so early on almost kind of calibrated my mind for the survival contest that it was going to be all day so that when the shit really hit the fan there and the last 30 miles, I was kind of already mentally prepared to roll with the punches. [00:07:52] Craig Dalton: Yeah, I think there's some good points there. I'll, you know, it's always interesting to me talking to elite level athletes and, you know, with most of my listeners, presumably being like myself, mid-pack racers, the same rules apply, right. Should always breaks down for everybody. And you can have a really bad moment in one of these long gravel events and come back as long as you do the right things, right. If you're. If you haven't eaten enough, you haven't drinking drank enough. You just got to get back on top of it and the day will come around and more likely than not the field in front of you is going to experience the same problems. Just a generic initially to yourself. [00:08:28] Payson McElveen: For sure. And I know we're going to get into the grand Prix, but I think that's one of the things that makes the grand Prix so fascinating, especially when combined with the pretty unusual point structure, I think it's just going to be so topsy, turvy and tumultuous and. You know, obviously we saw two, two of the favorites, you know, most people's picks for the overall in Keegan and Mo already take the lead. But I would be shocked if they maintain that lead, you know, all the way through the next five rounds, just because of the nature of gravel racing. Weirdly, I think the mountain bike events will be the least least selective in a way. [00:09:06] Craig Dalton: Yeah. Yeah. It's going to be interesting. Well, let's take a step back pace and I know, you know, I feel like I've gotten to know you through the course of your podcast, the adventure stash, but for our listeners, I want to just talk about how you got into the sport of cycling and we'll get to how you arrived at the gravel side of things. [00:09:24] Payson McElveen: Yeah, sounds good. [00:09:26] Craig Dalton: Yeah. So where'd you grow up? Where, when did you start riding? What was the first kind of race experience you had and how did you sort of develop the vision that you could be a professional athlete? [00:09:37] Payson McElveen: Yeah. So I grew up in a very small town, about 20 minutes outside of Austin, Texas. The rural Texas hill country. I'm fortunate enough to grow up on a little I don't know, hippie farm hippie ranch with my parents. You know, we had chickens and dogs and 18 acres couldn't see any houses from our house, which is something I, you know, in hindsight really appreciate pretty cool environment to grow up in. And I played pretty traditional sports growing up basketball ran track and field. Well, that sort of thing. But bike, riding and racing was always a little bit of the back of my mind because my dad did it some off and on while I was growing up. And then also Lance was winning all the tours during that time. And actually live just 15 minutes away from us. So he was a little bit of a hometown hero and all that was always front of mind. Freshman year of high school. I want to say I kind of had this recurring knee injury from playing basketball and that nudged me towards cycling a bit more. And I just started riding more and getting more interested in mountain biking in general. And there was this really cool mountain bike film, one of the early kind of. Shred it mountain bike. Documentary's called Rome that was playing in a bike shop and I just totally was transfixed one day. And that summer just kind of went all in. Building trails on the property and mountain biking and trying to learn more skills. And through a little bit of, a little bit of coaxing from my dad, I decided to, to line up for a mountain bike race, a local Texas mountain bike race when I was 14. And got absolutely. But for whatever reason, just it hooked me and that fall after getting absolutely destroyed by all the local, Texas kiddos. I just really dedicated myself to training and developing skills and came back that following spring as a 15 year old. And I don't think I lost a race in Texas that year and it sort of solidified. This idea of putting work in and getting a significant reward. And I'm not really sure why that never clicked with other sports. I was, you know, I guess had had a little bit of talent for basketball, maybe definitely talent for track And field, but I never dedicated myself to them from a work ethic standpoint, but for whatever reason, I was really motivated to do that for cycling and. Yeah, it just became a fan of the sport student of the sport, followed it like crazy. You got to know the pros, the U S pros and saw the Durango was really kind of the hotbed for domestic mountain bikers. And one thing led to the other. And now here I am still chasing the dream. [00:12:25] Craig Dalton: And did you end up going to college in Durango? Is that what I recall? [00:12:28] Payson McElveen: Huh. Yeah. So went to Fort Lewis college. That was also a big selling point. I ended up going to Europe with the national team as a 17 year old with USA cycling. And the one of the USA cycling coaches there for that trip was Matt Shriver, who happened to be one of the coaches at Fort Lewis college at the time also. And he sort of, you know, did a little bit of recruiting work with those of us there that. camp and a few of us actually ended up going to Fort Lewis, but yeah, boy, Durango's incredible. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to come here and then call it home for [00:13:05] Craig Dalton: Yeah there, the riding and mentorship in that communities. [00:13:10] Payson McElveen: It is. It is it's it's pretty incredible that the town is so small and so. Isolated in the scheme of things like it's pretty hard to get here. It's a long drive from anywhere and it's a kind of pain in the ass flight from everywhere. Also. We found that out on the way home from sea Otter when it took extra, but Yeah. I'm a small town hard to get to. And yet it's just this ridiculous hotbed of talent, you know, talent that's developed here, but then also talent that moves here. And one other thing I really appreciate is it isn't super like pro dominated. Like there's a very healthy grassroots contingent of cyclists here that. Frankly, do not care what's happening in pro bike racing whatsoever. And that's actually quite refreshing. When you spend a lot of your time at big race weekends, and you're getting asked 25 times a day, what tire pressure you're running, it's really nice to come back to Durango and, you know, just go shred some single track with someone that's wearing jorts and grab a beer afterward. [00:14:11] Craig Dalton: I bet. When you graduated from college and decided to go pro, was there a particular style of mountain bike racing that you were, you had in your head? This is what I want to pursue. [00:14:22] Payson McElveen: Man, this is where it gets pretty complicated. This is where it's very hard to make the story short, but I'll be as succinct as I can. So moving to Durango I had my. Sites, very firmly set on world cup XCO and the Olympics. I'd had some successes of junior and making the national team each year and doing some world cups and going to, you know, selection for Pan-Am games and all that sort of thing, podiums at junior nationals, all that sort of thing. But what I wasn't familiar with yet obviously is most. Teenagers or not is the economics of professional cycling, especially on the dirt side, on the roadside, it's pretty pretty cut and dried. There's almost a league obviously, and there's a fairly well-worn pipeline to the highest ranks of the sport. But in mountain biking, there's just really. Isn't that USA cycling tries, but it's there's such a high barrier of entry for a kid that doesn't live in Europe to go over to Europe, learn that style racing in a foreign land. And you know, it's very cost prohibitive. The writing style is completely different. It's not a mainstream sport. So their talent pools inevitably are just so much more vast than ours because of. that there are more kids that are just interested in being high-level cyclists, where most of our, you know, kiddos are interested in being NBA players or NFL players. So it's, I mean, it's a well-known story that it's very hard to break through at that level. And then there's the other component, which I don't think is talked about as much, which is just you start with the handicaps of inexperience. Obviously fitness, if you're a younger writer and then just start position. And I mean, it's, it is. So it's such a wild setup where you have to be so much stronger to break through and start earning results where your start position improves that just everything is stacked against you. So I had a few what I'd call kind of flash in the pan results enough to not give up on it, but not enough to really. Make it feel like it was a foregone conclusion. So I felt very fortunate to be in college and getting exposed to other styles of cycling as collegiate cycling frequently, you know, allows for. But going into senior year, I was kind of looking down the barrel of having to make some tough decisions. Cause I was making. Money racing professionally, but it was like serious poverty line sort of situation. And you know, finishing seventh or eighth at pro XC nets as a 23 year old is cool. But it's not going to give you an illustrious career. And so late late summer, early fall I just started kind of. Looking outside the bounds of this very narrow lane of focus that most folks my age were focused on, which was XCO mountain biking and the Olympics. And the other thing kind of to notice that one thing that strikes me frequently is that in mountain biking there are just fewer jobs of value in a way, if that makes sense, like on the roadside, if your [00:17:40] Craig Dalton: Yeah. [00:17:42] Payson McElveen: strongest on a world tour, You can still have a very fruitful position that is valued. I mean, if there's 400, some people in the world tour Peloton, I don't know what the number is exactly, but if you're 350 strongest, you're still a very valued member. If you line up at a world cup and there's 200 guys on the start line and you finish even 80th, like what's the value of that? There's [00:18:09] Craig Dalton: Yeah. [00:18:13] Payson McElveen: You're the backdrop for the folks that are at the top to anyway sort of digressing, but point being, I started looking around the sport and. I'd had some offers and opportunities to try racing on the road, but culturally, it just didn't quite jive for me. And then, you know, I started kind of looking at some of the folks that have, that had created their own paths, folks like Rebecca Rush Lil Wilcox hadn't really rose risen to prominence yet, but those sorts of people and I thought, you know what maybe I'll just go try. Something a little bit more adventure oriented. Just for fun. Like I don't know that I'm going to have the opportunity to dedicate as much time to cycling in the future as I am now. So maybe I'll go on an adventure. And sort of around the same time weirdly, I got a message from this race promoter, Italian guy that was putting on a race in Mongolia called the Mongolia bike challenge. And I still don't exactly know how that came about or why he reached out to me. But sure. You know, I'll come try, erase. And he said if I could get myself over there, he'd cover all of my expenses when I was there. And that said, you know, a flight to Mongolia, I think was like 25, 20 $600, something like that. And I had maybe $3,500 to my name as a senior in college. And I was like, well, you know, I just have this sneaking suspicion that this style of racing might be more my cup of tea. Obviously the Xes. I'm falling out of love with that. So I drained my bank accounts flew over there, had an amazing experience. That's a whole other story. [00:19:50] Craig Dalton: Yeah. It's such an amazing country. I had the good fortune of going there and I had previously raised a couple of the trans racist and trans Rockies up in Canada and had friends who had done the. The ones that were over in Europe. And I caught wind of that Mongolia one after visiting Mongolia on a hiking trip. And I was like, that must have been at epic. [00:20:07] Payson McElveen: It was super epic. And you know, it was, I think it was eight days, seven, eight days, the stages where there's one TT day, that was like an hour and 15, but most of the day. Five to four to five and a half hours. And there was some good races there. You know, Corey Wallace was there. He'd won, I think, Canadian marathon nasty year before. And he'd won the Mongolia bike challenge the year before. There was also this Italian world cup guy there, who I'd never been able to be close to at world cup events. And then all of a sudden found myself going shoulder to shoulder with these guys and just feeling way more capable as an athlete and ended up winning that series outside magazine did a little interview and like photo epic on the wind. And that's I found out later kind of what put me on red bull's radar, but that was the thing that really set the hook for me, where I thought, you know what? This was way more fun. I got to see an amazing part of the world. The media cared way more about. Like way more media interest than I'd ever received. And I was just way better suited to it. I had no experience had barely been doing five-hour training. I'd never done a five hour training ride and yet was able to kind of rise to the occasion and do five-hour race days and back it up day after day. So after that point, I started kind of dedicating a little bit more time to to that style. And then consequently one Pro marathon NATS the following year. And that's, that was those two things were kind of the inflection point, I would say. So around 27. [00:21:34] Craig Dalton: and was that, had you joined the orange seal team? [00:21:38] Payson McElveen: So I had been on the rebranded show air team for anyone that remembers the Scott Tedros show our teams. It was called ride biker that year. And it was sort of like a collection of private tiers. It seems like there are some equivalents these days, like, I think the shoot what's it called? Eastern Overland. I want to say they run something similar to that. And then. As far as I can tell that new jukebox program seems to have a bit of a similar setup. So it was kind of set up that way. So I was able to start to pull together some of my own sponsors. And then once I started to get that media interest, the outside interview was kind of the biggest thing. I was able to parlay that into better support or SEL came on board as one of my bigger sponsors, but I hadn't that the team didn't exist yet. And then when. NATS. That's kind of when orange seal and track are like, Hey, what if we like made a team? Like rather than this being a private tier thing, what if we kind of took some ownership and let you just race? And we set up more of a team. So that's how that worked. [00:22:43] Craig Dalton: And you mentioned getting on red bull's radar. When did you end up becoming a red bull athlete? [00:22:47] Payson McElveen: Let's see, I guess 2018, early 2018. Does that, is that right? 2018? [00:22:56] Craig Dalton: The [00:22:57] Payson McElveen: I can't remember. I think [00:22:58] Craig Dalton: timeline sounds right. And did it change your perspective of yourself as an athlete, as you got exposed to the red bull family and other red bull athletes? [00:23:09] Payson McElveen: Oh Yeah. Enormously. I mean, it changed everything and it's funny because when I say. Started communicating with them. At first, it was just like this childhood euphoria of, or my God. This is the most sought after prized sponsorship in adventure, sports outdoor sports. Like this is, I can't believe they're interested, but this is incredible. And you start getting so fixated on the potential of it. for anyone that's familiar with their process they'll know that it's not fast. So basically they were doing background on me for a year. And then for two more years, we communicated. Dated almost you could say decided to figure out how much commitment, mutual commitment there wanted to be. Obviously I was very interested in commitment, but, and then came the phase where it looked like it was going to happen. And all of a sudden you start feeling the pressure and you start questioning. Am I worthy? What is this, what does this mean? What's going to be asked of me, how do I need to rise to the occasion? And I'd say even after I signed for a solid year, that was kind of my mindset. Like, oh man, need to not screw this up. I need to prove that I'm worthy. I need to do innovative things. But one thing that's interesting is that they red bull never. Puts any pressure on you and they really drive home the fact that they want to partner with you because of who you already are and who you can become the potential that they think they see. And they really like to bring people on board before they've reached. They're their prime, their best. They want to help you be a part of that growth process. So once I was able to gradually shift my mindset and realize that this was more of an opportunity and less of an obligation, that's where I think mentally and emotionally, I was kinda able to free up free myself up a little bit race with more race with a sense of opportunity and joy. And then also start to kind of tap into. Creative aspect that I've really started to lean into over the last few years that I've come to realize is like very necessary just for my happiness and sense of fulfillment. And I think that's really where there's most significant interest came from. And it was also just great timing. You know, they wanted someone in this endurance, mass participation sort of arena. That's also why they brought a in, around a similar time. And so, yeah, like, like any success timing was a massive part of the opportunity as well. [00:25:56] Craig Dalton: Yeah. I feel like in some way and correct me if I'm wrong, your relationship with red bull for a few years prior to the pandemic left you very well-suited to whether the pandemic and the lack of racing, meaning you had a wider view of yourself as an athlete and the things you could do. [00:26:13] Payson McElveen: Yeah. And you know, I over the years I've questioned kind of this all of these extracurriculars that, that I'm interested in. Whether it be the podcast or some of the films we do, or some of the, you know, crazy routes, I like to try to tackle Question, you know, how much does that detract from more traditional racing cars like riding across Iceland three weeks before the Australis off-road isn't, you know, stellar prep, but But by the same token, you know, I've really tried to zoom out over the last handful of years and think about how will I look back on this time when I'm 45, 50, 55, whatever. And really, it kind of goes back to Mongolia, you know, T deciding to take that red pill rather than blue pill spend most of the money. I had to go on a crazy adventure halfway around the world by myself as a 23 or. With no experience, you know, I'll never forget that experience the people I met over in Mongolia. And ultimately I think going through life experiencing as much as the world, both interpersonally and just travel wise as you can is a good way to do it. And I've had many mentors over the years who have raised at the highest level, kind of. Persistently remind me that the, what they remember or the things between the actual races and to make sure that, you know, if you go to all-star Germany for the world cup, do everything you can to make sure you don't only see the inside of your hotel room and the three kilometer race course. So that's kind of why. More and more ambitiously gravitated towards some of these more adventure oriented things. And ultimately from a professional standpoint, getting back to your point, it really does, you know, the way I look at it as sort of like a diversified portfolio, there are athletes that only hold one kind of stock, you know, maybe your stock is awesome. Maybe you have a bunch of shares of apple, but you know what happens if for whatever reason, apple tanks. Similarly to the stock market. You know, you want to have a diversified portfolio when we're operating in this space that doesn't have a league. It doesn't have a bunch of structure. And there is a lot of room for creativity. So, it's a personal need, but also it's worked out professionally as well. [00:28:28] Craig Dalton: yeah, I think as a fan of the sport, when you're out there doing those adventures, and obviously you do a lot of filming around these adventures. We just feel closer to you as an athlete. So when you line up at some gravel race, like we're rooting for you because we've seen you struggle. Like any one of us might struggle on it. Adventure. [00:28:46] Payson McElveen: Yeah. that's interesting. I mean, that's good to hear. It makes sense, you know, anytime, you know, I think about I'm, I mean, I'm a massive mainstream sports fan, so I'm always comparing. Our little cycling sport to these mainstream sports. And it's interesting to look at something like say basketball versus football, the NFL versus the NBA and in the NFL, there's massive athlete turnover because of injuries. And also everyone's wearing loads of protective equipment, you know, helmets, pads, all that sort of thing. So you very rarely do you actually see the athletes. They're just these incredible people. Rip it around on the field, hitting each other. With basketball, you see all the writers, interesting hairstyles, writers, basketball players, interesting hairstyles, you know, the way they react to like a bad call, the way they're talking to each other on the bench. Usually they're, they feel more comfortable, you know, giving more flamboyant post-game interviews. And so it feels like the. Collectively like the fan base for individual players in the NBA is so much more engaged than in the NFL. Like fans are with the exception of folks like maybe Tom Brady or like people that have been around forever. Folks of the NFL are fans of the game, fans of teams. And on the NBA side of things frequently, they're fans of the individuals because they feel like they know the individuals. And so I think the same can kind of be said for cycling. And interestingly, I think that. This is a whole other conversation, but I think it's one of the reasons we're seeing such amazing professional opportunities for folks outside the world tour. Now, obviously the most money bar, none is still in the world tour, but there's so much less freedom for personal expression for frankly, like having. Personality. I mean, look at guys like Laughlin that are like redefining the sport and all they had to do was get out of the world tour and do what they wanted to do. And I think that's really interesting and I feel fortunate to be in a part of the sport where that's more celebrated for sure. [00:30:48] Craig Dalton: Yeah, absolutely. So chronologically on the journey, we're back at 2018, you've won your second XC marathon title. Had you started to dabble in gravel in 2018. [00:31:04] Payson McElveen: yeah, I think that was 2018. I did Unbound. Yeah, I guess that would have been 2018 and that was a hundred percent due to sponsors requesting it. I was not interested. And I had a whole mess of mechanicals and actually didn't finish. And I think that might be the. That might be the most recent race I haven't finished maybe besides, well, that's not true. Mid south just happened, but yeah, I was, I didn't get it in 2018. I was like, man, this is carnage. People are flatting everywhere. Why are we out here for so long? This is so [00:31:41] Craig Dalton: It does seem like a Rite of passage to get abused by your first unmanned professional experience. [00:31:47] Payson McElveen: Do it for sure. And Amanda Naaman loves to make fun of me about this cause like I really not publicly, but I was fairly outspoken to some people about how I just didn't understand gravel after that experience. And then I ended up going to mid south in 20, 19 two weeks before the white rim, fastest known time. And I was planning to use it as like. Training effort for the white rim fastest load time. And I ended up winning that mid south race. And then I was like, oh, gravel is sweet. Everyone cares so much about this when Getting loads of interviews, like A massive bump in social media followership, like, wait, maybe there is something to the Scrabble. It Amanda's always like, Yeah. The only reason you fell in love with gravel is because you were fortunate enough to win a race early on, which, you know, might be kind of true, but long story short, it was not love at first sight with gravel, but that's obviously since changed. [00:32:40] Craig Dalton: And you were, are you still kind of in the sort of, I guess 20, 20 season where you still doing XC marathon style racing in conjunction with gravel 2020 is probably a bad example because that was the pandemic year. But in the, in that period, were you doing both still. [00:32:56] Payson McElveen: Yup. Yup. Yeah. And you know, the funny thing is I still. see myself primarily as a mountain biker and there are people who, you know, question, you know, how. I define myself as a racer at this point, but I don't even really feel the need to define what Sal racer you are, because I'm just interested in the biggest races in the country. The, and really, you know, at this point, it's kind of becoming the biggest mass participation, non UCI events in the world. And it's I look at it as a spectrum. You know, if you kind of go down the list of. How do you define these races on one end of the spectrum? You've got something like, you know, BWR San Diego, which in my mind is just kind of like a funky sketchy road race. I don't know that you're allowed to call it a gravel race. If everyone is on road bikes with 20 eights and thirties narrower tires, then the people use a rebate. But and then on the other end of the spectrum, you have something like. I don't know, an epic rides event or, you know, even like the Leadville 100 that really blurs the lines like is that you could for sure. Raise the Leadville 100 on a drop bar, gobbled bike, because as Corey Wallace did last year and you've got everything in between. So, you know, you've got grind. Durose where some people are on mountain bikes. Some people are on gravel bikes, you've got the grasshoppers same. So I look at it as much more of a spectrum, and I think we're just in this incredible golden age of. Grassroot grassroots is such a misnomer, but just like mass participation, non spectator, primary races. And I'm just, I'm here for all of it. It's all. [00:34:38] Craig Dalton: Yeah. Yeah, it's super exciting. And I think the event organizers have just a ton of freedom of how they want. Design the race courses. You know, if I think about the difference between the LA GRA Villa event at this past weekend, which was probably 75% single track, it was the, basically the 40 K MTB course, super single track, heavy required, a pretty hefty skillset. I know a lot of quote, unquote gravel riders were scratching their heads. After that one, thinking they were definitely under. And then the other end of the spectrum, you have something like BWR, as you mentioned, or even SBT gravel. It doesn't require a lot of technical skillset to be competitive in those races. So I find it fascinating. And I think that even goes down to where you ride and where you live. Like my gravel here in Marine county as the listener. Well, nose is quite a bit different than Midwest gravel. Not better, not worse, you know, just depends on what's your company. [00:35:36] Payson McElveen: For sure. And I mean, here in Durango, our best road rides our gravel road rides, and we've been riding road bikes on them for ages. When I first moved here, you know, every, so we have a Tuesday night world's group ride, which for what it's worth is still the hardest group I've ever done anywhere in the country by a lot. But Frequently, you know, every third week or so the route that we'll do is majority dirt and everyone's on road bikes. And up until a couple of years ago, everyone was on 26 or 20 eights. And you know, they're fairly smooth gravel roads, but pretty much if you ask anyone locally, our best road rides are half dirt roads. So when this whole gravel movements start. I know I was one of many that was, we were kind of scratching our heads a little bit about, well, isn't this just bike riding, but I understand the industry has needed to kind of define and brand things, but Yeah, it's it's interesting. [00:36:30] Craig Dalton: Yeah, it's interesting as we were talking about your career in this sort of transition, a transition, but just as melding of your love of ECC and this new level of gravel low and behold in 2022 lifetime announces the grand Prix half mountain bike races, half gravel races. How excited were you around that announcement? [00:36:50] Payson McElveen: who very excited. Yeah I'd had some conversations with lifetime in the year or so prior kind of generally talking about structure and what events might make the most sense and all that sort of thing. But It was a little bit ambiguous about whether it was going to happen and to what degree and what it would all look like. So when the announcement? came out I was sort of primed for it, but I was also surprised by quite a few things. And that certainly. You know, increase the excitement too. As I read through the proposed rules and the points structure and the events they decided on and all that sort of thing. But yeah, I mean, it feels just like an enormous opportunity and I think it feels like an enormous opportunity. Personally because of the events, obviously, but I think it's an enormous opportunity for north American cycling as a whole, because there are so many aspects of the series that are completely different than any other series we've seen. I mean, in the United States with the exception of, you know, the heyday of mountain biking in the eighties and nineties, we haven't seen. Cycling massively successful really as a spectator sport or as a televised sport. Because there's always been this goal of making it a spectator sport, but I don't think in the United States, that's really ever going to be a spectator sport. The key in my mind is that it's a participation sport in this country, and that's what these huge grassroots mass participation events have really tapped into. And made them so successful. And so when you combine that with, you know, a year long points, chase, maybe all of a sudden that is the secret sauce for making it more spectator friendly, even if it's more of this kind of modern age of spectating, where it's very, online-based, there's lots of social media coverage. There's, you know, maybe a live stream there's, you know, Really cool. Like drive to survive, TVC series type things coming out of it. I mean that actually drive to survive as a great example. Like look what drive to survive has done for F1 in the United States virtually no one cared about F1 until that series came out. And now, you know, people are talking about peer gasoline and Daniel, Ricardo, like, you know, [00:39:04] Craig Dalton: Yeah. [00:39:05] Payson McElveen: You know, Kevin Duran or Tom Brady. So, it's a very interesting time and I just feel fortunate to kind of be reaching my peak career years right now as it's happening. [00:39:15] Craig Dalton: Yeah, to your point earlier, I think it just creates this great opportunity for storytelling throughout the season. And this idea of, you know, some courses are gonna be more favorable to mountain bike athletes. Others are going to be more favorable to traditional gravel athletes and just seeing how it all plays out and having the points across the season, as something as a fan that's in the back of your mind. I just think it's going to be a lot of fun and great for this. [00:39:41] Payson McElveen: Yeah. I think so too. I really hope so. And the thing that I really hope, I think what can truly set it apart and almost guarantee its success is if they're able to. Lean into those personal storylines, kind of like we were talking about earlier, the things that I think really makes a fan base fall in love with following a league or a sport, which is the individual stories. You know, like I hope there's all kinds of awesome coverage of Aaron Huck making this return to racing, following pregnancy, or you know, there's so many. Incredible individual storylines that can be told. And I hope that's really seen as an asset and taken advantage of. [00:40:26] Craig Dalton: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I have a. You can look at like Amber and Nevin and her experience, just like sort of getting a little bit crushed, still getting in the points at , but having a really rough day out there, that's the kind of narrative like you're looking for somebody who's coming way outside of their comfort zone to race this entire series. And unsurprisingly like a mountain bike style race was super challenging for. But it's going to be fascinating to see like how she bounces back for Unbound, which is this other radically different experience in my mind at 200 miles. [00:41:00] Payson McElveen: For sure. Yeah. I think we're going to learn a lot over this first year and I hope we get a couple of years at it because I think there will be lots of adjusting along the way. Lots of cool ideas and yeah, I think there's just massive potential and I hope everyone's able to hang in there for a few years to figure out what that potential actually. [00:41:22] Craig Dalton: Agreed. Unfortunately, you have to drop this race due to your injury at mid south, but I'm curious, like, as you looked at the arc and the style of racing that you were going to experience in the grand Prix, does that alter how you're training do you sort of do one thing for Otter? Morph dramatically into something else for a 200 mile Unbound, which is the next race on the calendar for the grand Prix series. [00:41:45] Payson McElveen: Yeah. I mean, training Is definitely different. Just physiologically. I kind of gravitate towards those long slow burn events more easily anyway. So preparing for something like sea Otter, where, you know, the, I mean the average speed, I think Keegan said his average speed was like 17.8 miles an hour. Schwamm against average speed. I did it two years and we averaged over 19 miles an hour, both times. Ironically these mountain bike events and Leadville, you know, despite all of its climbing and high elevation, that average speed is almost 17 miles an hour. So these mountain bike events are very much gravel style, mountain bike events. It would be pretty funny. To see this field, you know, line up for something like the grand junction. Off-road where you're lucky to crack nine and a half mile per hour, average speed. And everyone's running one 20 bikes and two, four tires. But yeah. In terms of training those faster kind of leg speed high-end events are ones that I have to train a little bit. I have to like tune up some speed a little bit more for, so for example, I'll attend the Tuesday night. Group right here in Durango almost every week in the month, leading up to that sort of event I'll get in some good motor pacing sessions still, you know, log some good five-hour rides just because that's what helps me be at my fittest, but not worry about a six and a half, seven hour ride with Unbound. I will notch, you know, some good six plus hour rides. And a lot of it is also just about. Practicing, like practicing your fueling practicing with the equipment you want to use doing some heat acclimation and then just doing massive amounts of sub threshold work. So, you know, I'll do rides, you know, like a six hour ride and do three tempo, three, one hour tempo blocks in there Just like an insane amount of. KJS I'm just trying to get your body used to being efficient really. I mean, that's kind of what it comes down to and being efficient under duress. So being efficient when it's 90 degrees out and your stomach, maybe isn't feeling amazing and you're pinging off rocks and. You know, trying to navigate a big budge. So there are some different things that I do overall training is pretty simple. You know, on the XC world cup, it training gets a lot more complicated, I think. But for these longer distance events training, actually, isn't terribly complicated at all. [00:44:16] Craig Dalton: Is there any one in particular that you're super excited about? [00:44:20] Payson McElveen: In the series [00:44:22] Craig Dalton: Yeah. [00:44:24] Payson McElveen: probably Leadville. I've been consistently good at Leadville. I've never had a 100% clean run at it. But I've been third twice, fourth last year. That's one that I would love to win before I retire. You know, if there's one race I could pick. Before I get too old to be competitive. I think Leadville is probably it. It's tricky though, because we've got these two guys that are just sensational, you know, generational talents and Keegan and Howard, both of them grew up at very high elevation. They're small guys. And they just go uphill like nobody's business and you know, they're hard to beat. They're definitely hard to be so. Every year, you know, I look towards Leadville. I would love to love for everything to come together for me there. But you know, all of these races are really competitive, but if I had to pick one, that's probably the one I'm most looking forward to. [00:45:19] Craig Dalton: Got it. And is there any room in your calendar for a pace and adventure this year? [00:45:25] Payson McElveen: Yeah. Good question, boy. That's kind of the trade-off of the grand Prix, you know, it's really consuming said, I know that I always perform better off of big training blocks. So I've pulled back on race days pretty significantly. So I have some really big breaks in my schedule. I'm probably going to go do this four day GB Duro style stage race in Iceland. That is the route that We bike tour last year around the west fjords it's 450 mile days. Give her. Which would be a fun adventure. But in terms of like, whoa here's a crazy idea. No, one's done yet type thing. I have a pretty significant list of those. We'll see where they fit in. I'm going to do another trail town for sure. I really enjoyed that project of Ben last year and the storytelling aspect of that and the big gear giveaway we got to do and kind of the. The community that we developed online there that was really successful. So I'll do another one of those. There's also going to be another matchstick productions film coming up, which is really good for the sport. You know, really high profile, high production value, feature, length film that typically, you know, features a lot of backflips in three sixties and in Virgin, Utah, and. endurance riding as much, but they've been really cool about working more of that in, so I'm looking forward to filming for that again this year, their next one. Probably in terms of like a big crossing or, you know, massive MKT of some kind. I have a big scouting mission that I'll be doing in the fall, but it it'll be by far and away. The biggest one I've tried, not in terms of huh. Kind of distance too, but mostly just like it's extremely audacious and not the sort of thing where I can just go in blind. So I'm going to go in and do a lot of scouting for that and probably knock that out. Summer of 23. [00:47:18] Craig Dalton: Well, I mean, for the listener, Payson's always an exciting person to follow and your creativity. It's just fun watching how your mind works and the things you want to tackle. And it's just a lot of fun to watch what you're doing. I know we got to get you out on a training ride, but one final question. I just wanted to talk about your change in sponsorship this year, in terms of the bike you're riding. Do you want to talk a little bit about that? [00:47:39] Payson McElveen: Yeah, I mean, I don't know. There's a lot of drip, a lot of directions we could go there, but that was What are the scarier professional periods I've had thus far? I obviously had to two really great options and went back and forth between the two for months. I was very fortunate to have the support of an agent that I've come to lean on very significantly over the last couple of years, not sure where I'd be without him, but Yeah. I mean, that was a, that was another sort of like red pill, blue pill moment where the logical thing would be to stay with the brand that you've been with for seven years and is the big juggernaut and the proven, you know, you can be a reliable cog in a big machine type sort of situation. But I've always had. Kind of entrepreneurial drive. That's really hard to ignore sometimes. And there was a whole lot of upside with joining allied and they're doing some really industry defining things that other brands don't have, the ability or confidence or ambition to do. You know, they're 100% made in the U S. Component is really incredible. And that affords all sorts of things from a quality standpoint, a product development standpoint, and just social issue, standpoint and environmental aspects standpoint things that? felt very good. Morally in a way. But ultimately I just want it to be on the bikes that I thought I could win on. And Allied's bikes are just unbelievable. I mean, the quality and the care. Their process for product development and their willingness to kind of ignore industry trends in favor of just making the fastest, most badass bike possible was very intriguing and enticing. And I did go back and forth many times for awhile. But once I finally made the decision, I just it felt like a massive relief, a huge amount of excitement. And Yeah. in hindsight, I'd make that decision. 10 out of 10 times again, [00:49:44] Craig Dalton: Right on presumably you've got both an allied echo and an allied. What's the other one with the enable in your quiver, are you using the echo as your road bike or using one of their pure road machines? [00:49:56] Payson McElveen: so we were, we've been waiting on parts for the echo. I've had an echo frame for a good bit. Parts just showed up last week. So I'll be getting that echo built up. Probably over the weekend. I've test written one but I haven't put huge miles on an echo yet. It's a really, I mean, just a classic example of a brilliant idea from the incredible mind that is Sam Pikmin there, their head of product, but I'll definitely be racing the echo at things like Steamboat where, you know, aerodynamics and weight and more of a road style bike really would pay dividends. The ABL is just awesome. I was absolutely mind boggled by how light it was. I mean, it's over a pound lighter than the gravel bike I was raised in the previous year, which frankly I didn't really expect. So that's been great. And then Yeah. I'm also on an alpha, which is. They're road bike, just super Zippy snappy road bike, and has a really cool, almost a little bit old school aesthetic with the level top tube that has this really cool classic look. [00:50:56] Craig Dalton: Yeah, for sure. I'll refer in the show notes. I'm the listener to my interview with Sam and I've had allied on a couple of different times, so great product, super I'm super jazzed when anybody's making anything in the USA. And as you said, it's just fun as an athlete. I'm sure to be able to go to the factory and see the layups and talk to them to the craftsmen that are working on the. [00:51:17] Payson McElveen: Yeah, And just to have a lot of input, you know, just to be able to say, Hey, I'm interested in running my bike this way. Is that possible? And then go to the factory five days later and they've literally like machined the part already and run all the kinematics in the way. Let's pop it in, like what [00:51:35] Craig Dalton: let's do it. [00:51:36] Payson McElveen: that would have taken two years at a big bike brand. That's insane. [00:51:41] Craig Dalton: So true. So true. All right, dude. Well, I'm going to let you go. I appreciate all the time. It's been great to finally get you on the mic and talk about your career. I'm going to be looking forward to your comeback for the, for Unbound and throughout the rest of the series. We'll be rooting for you. [00:51:55] Payson McElveen: awesome. Thanks Greg. It was great to finally get on and chat with you and Yeah, keep up the good work quality podcasts are hard work and few and far between. So, nice job. And yeah, keep up the good work. [00:52:07] Craig Dalton: Thanks. I appreciate that. [00:52:09] Payson McElveen: Cool man. [00:52:10] Craig Dalton: Big, thanks to pay some for joining the podcast this week. I hope you enjoyed the conversation and huge thanks to hammerhead and the crew to computer for sponsoring this week's edition of the gravel ride podcast. Remember head on over to hammerhead.io. Use the promo code, the gravel ride for that free custom color kit. And premium water bottle. If you're looking to provide a little feedback, I encourage you to join the ridership. It's our free global cycling community. Just visit www.theridership.com. You can always find me in that group. And I welcome your episode suggestions. If you're able to financially support the show, please visit www dot. Buy me a coffee.com/the gravel ride. Any contribution to the show is hugely appreciated. Until next time here's to finding some dirt onto your wheels

Aaron and Josh Sarnecky are here for their final podcast of the year. This time they're chatting about The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, which opened in theaters on December 19, 2001 and is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The Fellowship of the Ring is an epic fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. The movie adapts the first volume of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. The film tells the story of Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood, Deep Impact), a Hobbit living in the idyllic countryside of the Shire. Frodo begins a dangerous journey after the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen, X-Men) discovers the dark origins of Frodo's magic ring. With the help of his friends, which include Sam (Sean Astin, The Goonies), Merry (Dominic Monaghan, Lost), Pippin (Billy Boyd, Outlander) and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises), Frodo must cast the Ring into Mount Doom before the forces of evil take it. Some other members of the ensemble cast are Christopher Lee (Hugo) as Saruman, Orlando Bloom (Troy) as Legolas, Jonathan Rhys-Davies (Aquaman) as Gimli, Sean Bean (Patriot Games) as Boromir, and Cate Blanchett (Nightmare Alley) as Galadriel. The Fellowship of the Ring was the second highest grossing movie of 2001 and garnered widespread acclaim from both critics and moviegoers. The movie earned 14 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for McKellen, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It won Best Score, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, and Best Makeup. Podcast topics include the movie's plot, characters, action, and effects. The brothers also discuss previous adaptations of Tolkien and Jackson's choice to make The Lord of the Rings before The Hobbit. To wrap things up, Josh and Aaron talk about the highs and lows of their 2021 podcasts. You can also listen to Josh and Aaron's podcast on the final Lord of the Rings film, The Return of the King. The entire Lord of the Rings trilogy is streaming on HBO Max.

McKellen has just completed his second run as Hamlet, his first was 50 years ago. Sir Ian is 82 and played the lead in Sean Mathias's age, gender and colour blind production. After a brief reminiscence over cigarette brands of the past and wondering how vapers can get excited by branding and advertising as we once did; we look at the play, the character of Hamlet and his skills.This version proves that age is only a number. Ian has the gait of youth.Hamlet has to be able to persuade a number of people to help him in his quest to find out if his Father has been poisoned and then to aid him in revenge.He even influences the players who visit the castle to enact a scene that will help him see if Claudius is guilty.In business persuading people to take action is the goal, not just to like what you have said and how you said it. We explain how Hamlet follows Aristotle's famous consideration of Ethos, Logos and Pathos.I hope this play starts a trend on and off the stage. We should be age, gender and colour blind and the more we are, the more diverse and exciting our lives will be. 

Get In to THE greatest trilogy of all time, The Lord of the Ringshttps://twitter.com/GetInPodcastteespring.com/get-in-merch

Both Segments: Albert Cory, Author. Inventing The Future.Imagine a time before everyone stared at a screen, before fonts, icons, mice, and laser printers, before Apple and Microsoft… But behind the scenes, Xerox engineers were dreaming and inventing the modern personal computer.Who were these people who changed the world, and why did corporate management just want to sell copiers and printers?Albert Cory* was one of the engineers, charged with making that dream a reality and unknowingly starting a revolution. Inventing the Future is based on the true story of the Xerox Star, the computer that changed everything.Link To Book: Amazon.com: Inventing the Future eBook: Cory, Albert, Sainsbury, Jonathan, Mason, Samantha, McKellen, Scott: Kindle StoreFor more info, interviews, reviews, news, radio, podcasts, video, and more, check out ComputerAmerica.com!

OH MY GOD IT'S BEEN A WHOLE YEAR SINCE WE HAD LAUREN ON SHE'S AMAZING AND JOA JOINS US TO TALK ABOUT HOW AWESOME SHE IS!Lauren's Onlyfans: https://onlyfans.com/rawrgliciousLet's Talk About Snacks: https://open.spotify.com/show/1fVjUPlm967tApMypgyWkLEon's World: https://eonscomic.kitmyth.net/Stories Used:Lauren:https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/lamborghini-of-chariots-discovered-pompeii-1234599683/ https://news.artnet.com/art-world/rijksmuseum-female-artists-gallery-of-honor-1950686 Beffmonsterhttps://attitude.co.uk/article/ian-mckellen-calls-on-gay-people-to-be-trans-allies-as-were-all-under-the-queer-umbrella/24571/https://www.livescience.com/zoo-animals-react-to-visitors-after-lockdown.html Larryhttps://www.wired.com/story/lastpass-how-to-export-your-data-and-leave/ https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20210308/14502246383/police-police-supporters-ending-qualified-immunity-makes-being-cop-too-hard-somehow-defunds-police.shtml JOAhttps://www.huffpost.com/entry/rod-ponton-im-not-a-cat-legal-zoom-meeting_n_6022e4a8c5b6f38d06e7a1de https://www.huffpost.com/entry/covid-19-new-german-words_n_6043c290c5b6429d0833c0aa https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/germany-words-pandemic-long/2021/02/26/6f73330e-7835-11eb-9489-8f7dacd51e75_story.html

In this episode, we examine and scrutinize the relationship between an aging Hollywood director and his yard man, and we also discuss queer representation in front of and behind the camera in Bill Condon's award winning film.

Ross Noble and Ed Kavalee continue to attempt deconstruct Shania Twain's That Don't Impress Me Much video clip. They continue to avoid it.  It is a show full of Pound Store name drops, a sprinkle of Shania and for the civil engineers out there plenty of bridge chat! Check out the vision of The Weeknd's AMA Bridge Walk here. For those who've only just joined us, the end of this episode features the very first episode of Ross Noble Podcast to bring you up to speed on the work of Theodore Weeknd. Ross Noble Podcast is produced by Jay Mueller, edited by James Blake and is part of the Bad Producer Podcast Network.  usbmsfdf See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Nick Nack Goes To The Movies, we are back for the conclusion of our X-Men live action film franchise episode. Finally, I can tell you about my New Mutants reaction, but before we get to that, we got to kick things of with Days of Future Past...The Rogue Cut because you know how we do here as movie watching experts as I know you all are if you are listening to this podcast. So let us remember the glory of Fassbender, Reynolds, Lawrence, McAvoy, Stewart, McKellen, Jackman, and so many more who took part in this 13 movie 20 year franchise. And let us try really hard to forget that Dark Phoenix exists. I will also not leave y'all without not only a list of definitive rankings of best and worst, but my attempt to give you the best chronological way to view all these films, and it is a doozy, but I think it makes sense. So what are my fun call to action parts of this podcast for social? If you like Dark Phoenix, tell me why, I am super curious if anyone can change my mind here? And a more for everyone prompt, what is your favorite X-Men movie and why? Let us know at either @NickNackMovies on Instagram or @NickNack_IC on Twitter and you could get a shoutout on next weeks episode. And remember, if you are listening on Apple Podcasts, this movie franchise is packed with starts, and you should make the reviews filled with 5 stars too.

Heeeeere's Jack, back with another Shabcast.  In a break from recent tradition, this new episode does not feature me talking to Kit Power about his new book even though he does have a new book out as usual.  Devastating news?  Well, it would be except that instead I'm talking to the unfeasibly and annoyingly talented Christine Kelley (@ballardiangorse), writer of the brilliant Dreams of Orgonon blog and all-round starburst of interestingness.  Nominally our conversation is about Alien and The Shining, movies to which we both indefinitely rent cranial real estate, but you'll find we range pretty freely from topic to topic as you'd expect from Eruditorum Press people.  Our topics include Mckellen's Richard III, Julie Taymor's Titus, Branagh's Hamlet, and even a few things that aren't Shakespeare movies.  Enjoy. My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=4196618&fan_landing=true My Twitter: https://twitter.com/_Jack_Graham_ Shabogan Graffiti: http://www.eruditorumpress.com/blog/author/jack/ IDSG: https://idontspeakgerman.libsyn.com/ Christine's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ballardiangorse Christine's blog: https://katebushsongs.wordpress.com/ Christine's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ballardiangorse

In which Aaron joins the show to finally fix a GOOD movie. We talk all around and through the marvel films, X-men, and even a few other fun stops along the way. Submit your own rewrites to filmrescueshow@gmail.com This show is brought to you by ALL of our dear patrons and especially by; Producer level patrons Lou Wilkerson and Seth Decker. It is also brought to you by Executive Producer level patron Erin Moriarty. Thank you all for the continued support! Contribute to the channel by donating at patreon.com/montressormediaWe do this podcast, That Weird Ass Game podcast, The Palette Cleanser podcast, other videos, and special episodes on the patreon that you can't get anywhere else. For only $1 you can join the gang! Follow us on twitter!@Filmrescueshow - The Show@sethxdecker - The Pitch Master General@OldPangYau - Team Host@hardcorebshot - Team Host@ErinMoriartyYT - Team Host Discord Server https://discord.gg/xRcAyae

It's another nerd fan favorite up on the firing range! @Sean_Oconnell from @Cinemablend goes after the Peter Jackson epic, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. According the Sean, this film has TOO much setup and NOT enough going on. But does he properly set fire to the shire? Or do @KevinGootee and @KevinIsrael_NJ sick the Orcs upon his argument? PLEASE continue to visit www.guttingthesacredcow.com EVERY day for brand NEW articles. Don't forget, we have really cool hats, shirts, mugs, and superhero capes. Not yet for the capes but maybe 1 day. Tag 10 friends who follow us and we'll send you a free shirt! And if you like what you see, please share it on your SM. And speaking of social media... Please follow everyone on twitter, FB, and IG: @GTSCpodcast, @Cinemablend, @KevinGootee @Sean_Oconnell @KevinIsrael_NJ Lastly, NEW email address and if you're looking to advertise your business, product, or service: guttingthesacredcow@gmail.com

CATS 2✮ D00 B50 J10Juandapo, Diego y Boris hablan mientras se embriagan de CATS, la película basada en el musical basado en los poemas basados en el amor hacia los gatos.Hablan del pene de Idris Elba, de la flexibilidad de Judi Dench y de la humillada a Sir Ian McKellen. Descubren si Diego es o no furro y sobre todo hablan de lo extraña y horrible que es la película.Nos vemos en la Temporada 7. :)Apóyanos en Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/estupidonerd Twitter: @Estupido_nerd@Juandapo, @Alefrito y @CforerooFacebook: www.facebook.com/EstupidoNerd/Instagram: www.instagram.com/estupidonerd/iTunes Podcast: http://bit.ly/EstupidoNerdGoogle Podcast: http://bit.ly/GooglepodcastSpotify: https://spoti.fi/2LC8XeIYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/c/estupidonerdwww.estupidonerd.com/Editado por: Juandapo.

CATS 2✮ D00 B50 J10Juandapo, Diego y Boris hablan mientras se embriagan de CATS, la película basada en el musical basado en los poemas basados en el amor hacia los gatos.Hablan del pene de Idris Elba, de la flexibilidad de Judi Dench y de la humillada a Sir Ian McKellen. Descubren si Diego es o no furro y sobre todo hablan de lo extraña y horrible que es la película.Nos vemos en la Temporada 7. :)Apóyanos en Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/estupidonerd Twitter: @Estupido_nerd@Juandapo, @Alefrito y @CforerooFacebook: www.facebook.com/EstupidoNerd/Instagram: www.instagram.com/estupidonerd/iTunes Podcast: http://bit.ly/EstupidoNerdGoogle Podcast: http://bit.ly/GooglepodcastSpotify: https://spoti.fi/2LC8XeIYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/c/estupidonerdwww.estupidonerd.com/Editado por: Juandapo.

Gabriel Byrne cannot do a german accent

Ian Mckellen is a legend of stage and cinema. He has incredibly starred in over four hundred plays and films and he is that rare character actor that awes in each and every performance. McKellen is a celebrity of such distinguished political and social service that it has transcended his international fame to reach beyond the stage and screen. The breadth of his career — professional, personal and political — has been truly staggering. Sci-fi and fantasy fans know him as Gandalf from the Lord of The Rings and Magneto from the Marvel X-Men series of films. Theater lovers know of McKellen’s roles as Macbeth, King Lear, and Estragon in the truly fantastic Waiting For Godot. From his West End acting debut in 1964 in James Saunders’s A Scent of Flowers, to the day he took Broadway by storm when he played Antonio Salieri in Peter Shaffer’s Tony-Award-winning play Amadeus, to his many turns on screen, McKellen is an international treasure and icon, and it is because of this that Welcome To The Party Pal pays tribute to such an acclaimed talent.To celebrate Ian McKellen properly, one of your Welcome To The Party Pal hosts, Michael Shields, sits down with author Garry O’Connor, who recently penned Ian McKellen: A Biography. Garry O’ Connor is a biographer and novelist, noted for his publications on theatrical and literary figures. He has written well-praised biographies of Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Paul Scofield, Peggy Ashcroft, and Alec Guinness. His book probes the heart of Ian McKellen, recreating his greatest stage roles and exploring his personal life. Ian McKellen: A Biography shows readers what makes the great actor tick and Michael and Garry discuss some of Ian’s more memorable roles, what motivates Ian in work and life, his activism, and so much more. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Conversations with Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart on January 28, 2014. Moderated by Richard Ridge, Broadway World. IAN McKELLEN (Spooner in No Man's Land and Estragon in Waiting for Godot) has over 40 international awards for his half-century on screen and stage. He has worked regularly for Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre of Great Britain and on the West End stage in Shakespeare and a wide range of classic and new plays. In New York, he won every available award for Amadeus (1981). His solo show Acting Shakespeare packed theatres across the States and is now a teaching aid throughout the country. In 2001, he returned to Broadway in Dance of Death and hosted Saturday Night Live. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2004. Most recently, he played King Lear for the RSC at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. McKellen has starred in more than 40 movies: Richard III, Stephen King's Apt Pupil, Gods and Monsters, The Da Vinci Code, four X-Men films, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. Lately UK/PBS sitcom Vicous. Full career at www.mckellen.com. PATRICK STEWART (Hirst in No Man's Land and Vladimir in Waiting for Godot). Theater: No Man's Land (Berkeley Rep.), Waiting for Godot (What's on Stage Theatre Event of the Year), Macbeth (Tony nomination), Bingo: Scenes of Money and Death, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Young Vic. London Fringe Best Actor Award), The Ride Down Mount Morgan (Broadway), The Tempest (Shakespeare in the Park, Broadway), Othello (Washington, DC), A Christmas Carol (LA, Broadway, London, Olivier for Best Entertainment, Drama Desk Award for Best Solo Performer, What's On People's Choice Award for Best Solo Performance), over forty productions with The Royal Shakespeare Company, including Hamlet (Olivier - Best Actor), Antony and Cleopatra (SWET Best Actor), The Merchant of Venice (SWET Best Actor nomination) and Peter Brook's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Television: Macbeth (Great Performances), Hamlet (Emmy nomination, Great Performances), Star Trek: The Next Generation (SAG Award nomination), Extras (Emmy nomination), Frasier, The Lion in Winter (Golden Globe nomination), King of Texas, A Christmas Carol (Emmy and SAG nominations), Moby Dick (Golden Globe, Emmy, SAG nominations). Film: Conspiracy Theory, Jeffery, Robin Hood -- Men in Tights, LA Story, Dune, Excalibur, four Star Trek: The Next Generation movies, Stephen Belber's Match, Hunting Elephants and three X-Men movies, with a fourth -- X-Men: Days of Future Past -- coming in 2014. Stewart was knighted by The Queen in the 2010 New Year Honours for Services to Drama.

What was the first show you ever saw? Your biggest theatre regret? And which production would you choose to watch on a loop for eternity? These questions and more make up Seven Stages, the new podcast from The Stage, sponsored by Audible. The first episode is released this Friday, February 21, 2020, featuring Ian McKellen. Ian McKellen topped The Stage 100 as the most influential person in theatre this year and boasts one of the most extraordinary, long-lasting careers in theatre. In the inaugural episode of Seven Stages, he tells our host, award-winning journalist Tim Bano, about the impact pantomimes and amateur dramatic groups have had on his work – and shares an amusing tale about his debut performance. In a wide-ranging conversation, the intimate conversation covers stories from behind the scenes of major productions throughout McKellen's career, such as Macbeth alongside Judi Dench (1978), the original Royal Court production of Bent (1979) and his much-loved recent one-man show Ian McKellen On Stage, for which he travelled to more than 80 theatres across the UK to mark his 80th birthday. Listen below to hear the full conversation. Every fortnight, you can join Tim Bano for illuminating, intimate conversations with influential performers and creatives who have lived their lives in theatre. 

John Hurt as Artist is a new exhibition in Norfolk which reveals a less well-known side of the actor who died last year. Sir John Hurt's widow Anwen discusses the mainly figurative paintings and drawings which mostly relate to the actor's off-screen life, but also include self-portraits of him in prosthetic make-up for his role as John Merrick in The Elephant Man from 1980. Ian McKellen is playing King Lear in the West End and recently Anthony Hopkins played him on television. Accompanying Lear on his bleak and tragic journey is his Fool. Karl Johnson, Fool to Anthony Hopkins' Lear, and Lloyd Hutchinson, McKellen's Fool, discuss the way they approach this enigmatic figure.Recently we've been offering inspiration on holiday reading to help you choose which books to cram into your suitcase. Today New Statesman book critic Sarah Ditum concludes the series with a set of recommendations for people holidaying closer to home, in the UK and Ireland. Presenter Kirsty Lang Producer Jerome Weatherald.Main image: Sir John Hurt printmaking. Credit: Andi Sapey

Skinner Co. finds something to love among this mess of dead Nazis and young-old McKellen.

In Episode 45 of the Crooked Table Podcast, Rob reviews a pair of recent Emma Watson releases in Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast remake and techno-thriller The Circle, co-starring Tom Hanks, Patton Oswalt and John Boyega. Then, he addresses the controversy surrounding the new Netflix series Dear White People, based on the 2014 film of the same name. Is this series adaptation of Justin Simien's film an exercise in racism or a satire intended to open up a larger conversation? Let's chat it out. We're excited to hear your feedback as the show continues to evolve. As usual, the podcast does feature explicit language and, as such, is best considered NSFW. Thanks for listening! SHOW NOTES Previously on the Crooked Table Podcast! Rob's Dear White People review on We Got This Covered That controversial Dear White People teaser   The Crooked Table Podcast is now on Stitcher! Listen to all past episodes NOW! Subscribe to the Crooked Table Podcast on iTunes so that you never miss a moment! Robert Yaniz Jr. can be reached on Twitter at @crookedtable.   Connect with Crooked Table on social media:   Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Tumblr

Mr. Holmes, starring Sir Ian McKellen and based on the book A Slight Trick of the Mind by Mitch Cullen, has been a subject of tremendous excitement in the Sherlockian world ever since the news of its early planning! In Episode 66, join Babes Sarah, Amy, Melinda, Taylor, and Lyndsay as they discuss their impressions of this important new contribution to the legacy of the Great Detective, and a gosh darned good flick at that.   This episode is not spoiler-free, so be warned--we cover a lot of ground here. How were the film's themes interwoven and mirrored? What other Sussex-era content should you be getting your greedy hands on? What were the film's most resonant moments for Sherlockians and just how hot did Sir Ian look in those pinstriped trousers?  If Sherlock Holmes, as it's said, never lived and so can never die, what does that mean for late-life adaptations? How meta is this movie and how much of that is thanks to Doyle himself?     Deep thoughts, much appreciation for Sir Ian and his colleagues, fan-casting Sir Patrick Stewart as Watson--all this awaits in Episode 66.  

Dave and Alonso share their thoughts about Meryl Streep's hair choices and the shocking deathbed confession of André Bazin. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @linoleumcast, like our Facebook page, leave us a glowing iTunes review, buy our extra episodes, housequake!   Dave's streaming pick of the week: A SUMMER'S TALE (CONTE D'ÉTÉ)   Alonso's DVD pick of the week: GODS AND MONSTERS

[Digital Drift 2014] Looking back on the 2000 original it is both extremely important in legitimising the real life comic superhero movie for modern times and increasingly a relic of a bygone age when this sort of thing was considered a flaky risk and where low budgets, self-conscious cast members, dismal costumes, short running times and pedestrian action sequences were acceptable. That being said there are also some excellent performances within, especially Stewart, McKellen and the breakout star, Huge Action. Had this been a mishandled flop, the course of the Marvel movie might have been very different. Then again, Spider-Man was already in production and it's possible a reboot would have changed the course of the X-Men in movies, one that has instead sailed on for fourteen years and off into the future. On that note if you'd like to better understand the convoluted, contradictory history laid down in the X-Men movies be sure to check out “X-Men Movie Timeline [Days of Future Past Explained ]” on YouTube. It clarifies a hell of a lot with a three-universes theory that compliments and augments the explanation given in the seventh movie. 

"The Snowmen" is the sixth episode and a Christmas special of the of the British series . It was written by and was first broadcast on 2012 at 5.15pm on in the UK. It stars as the and as , his new . The episode also features a redesigned , revised opening and theme music, and sees major changes to the Doctor's costume. The episode is set in the and sees the Doctor brooding with the assistance of Madame Vastra, her wife Jenny Flint and Strax, after the loss of companions and in the previous episode, "." He is forced out of hiding to investigate mysterious, sentient snowmen that are building themselves and meets Clara, a governess also investigating the snowmen. It guest stars and as the villains. McKellen provides the voice of the , a disembodied alien previously featured in Doctor Who in the serials and . From the Great Intelligence's perspective, this episode occurs before those serials and several elements from "The Snowmen" reference and lead into them. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics, most of whom received the and character of Clara well, but some felt that Grant and McKellen were underused as villains. Contents Plot Prequels To promote the special, two prequels were released. The first was broadcast during the 2012 telethon on 16 November 2012, titled "The Great Detective". A for the special was also broadcast during this programme. In the prequel, the Madame Vastra, her human wife Jenny Flint, and the Strax (all returning from "", with Strax's apparently revival after being killed off in the earlier episode explained in the special) describe a number of strange phenomena to a shadowed fourth detective. The fourth detective reveals himself to be the Doctor, and tells the group that he has retired. A second prequel, titled "Vastra Investigates", was released online on 17 December 2012. At the end of a case, Vastra and Jenny converse with an officer from , apologising for Strax's violent wishes for the culprit's punishment. Vastra explains Strax's alien origin as well as her own to the officer, much to his astonishment. She was awoken by an extension to the and initially disliked humans, though that changed when she fell in love with Jenny, which leaves the officer flabbergasted. On the carriage ride home, during a discussion about the Doctor's , Jenny notices it is beginning to snow. Vastra voices that the snow is impossible due to the fact that there are no clouds in the sky. Synopsis In 1840s England, a young boy builds a snowman but refuses to play with the other children. The snowman starts speaking to the boy, repeating his assertions that the other children are "silly". Fifty years later, the boy has grown up to be Dr Simeon, proprietor of "The Great Intelligence Institute". He hires men to collect samples of snow, which he places in a large snow-filled globe in his laboratory, before feeding the men to a group of animated snowmen. Meanwhile, the Doctor, still despondent after losing his former companions and , has parked his TARDIS above Victorian London among the clouds, descending to the surface via a long circular staircase, and instructed his allies - the Silurian Madame Vastra, her human wife Jenny, and the Sontaran Strax - to scout the city, through which he learns of Dr Simeon's interest in the snow. Elsewhere, Clara, a barmaid, investigates a disturbance outside her tavern to find the Doctor walking by. She accuses him of building a snowman, but the Doctor realises that the snowman is made of snow with a memory. The Doctor attempts to leave discreetly, but Clara follows him to a coach. The Doctor, hesitant about gaining a new companion, instructs Strax to bring a "memory worm", with the intent to use the creature's touch to wipe away the last hour of Clara's memory, in particular her knowledge of him. As more snowmen form and try to harm them, the Doctor tells Clara that her thoughts are creating the snowmen, and to think of them melting; after she concentrates, the snowmen melt. Clara cautions the Doctor that if he wipes her memory, she will forget how to deal with the snowmen. The Doctor relents, letting her go, and returning to the TARDIS. Clara follows; she finds it locked and knocks, but hides and flees down the staircase when the Doctor answers. Clara returns to her other job as governess for the children of Captain Latimer. She learns that Latimer's daughter has been having horrible dreams about the old governess, who had been frozen a year prior in Latimer's pond - returning from the dead and killing them all. Clara attempts to contact the Doctor but instead attracts the attention of Jenny, who takes her to see Vastra. Vastra tells Clara she gets only one word to impress the Doctor with if she wants his help; she chooses "pond", which arouses the Doctor's interest. The Doctor visits Dr Simeon's laboratory, dressed as , and finds that the giant snow-filled globe contains the , the entity that has been speaking to Dr Simeon since childhood. The Doctor learns that the Great Intelligence has been controlling the snowmen and has taken interest in Latimer's pond, deducing that it contains the DNA to create a new snow creature. The Doctor visits the pond, where an ice creature in the form of the former governess rises out of the pond and enters the mansion. Vastra, Jenny and Strax arrive and trap the creature behind a barrier. Leaving Latimer and the children with his allies, the Doctor flees with Clara to the roof of the mansion followed by the ice creature. They ascend to the TARDIS and the Doctor gives Clara a key, explaining that he now considers her a companion, though he does not understand why. However, the ice creature grabs Clara and pulls her over the edge of the clouds. The Doctor recovers Clara from the snowmen and returns to the mansion. He collects the ice fragments from the creature, ensuring they remain dormant but finding they contain ice-based DNA, the material that the Great Intelligence is looking for, and apparently places them in a souvenir . He travels to Dr Simeon's lab, where the Doctor reveals the Great Intelligence's plan to replace humanity with ice creatures, and holds up the tin, stating that it contains the ice DNA that is necessary for the plan. Dr Simeon grabs the tin, but opens it to find it contains the memory worm. It bites Simeon; the Doctor states that the Great Intelligence, which has been existing as a mirror of Dr Simeon's thoughts, will vanish with the erasure of Dr Simeon's memories. Instead, the Intelligence reveals that it existed long enough that it can now control Dr Simeon's body, which it uses to attack the Doctor. However, the influence of the Great Intelligence quickly wanes, and Dr Simeon falls dead. Outside, a salt-water rain has started, and the Doctor realises that some other, more powerful psychic ability has taken control of the snow from the Great Intelligence. The Doctor deduces that it must be the Latimer family, crying for Clara. Strax informs the Doctor upon his return to the Latimer mansion that Clara only has moments left, and she passes away as the Doctor returns the TARDIS key to her. At her funeral, the Doctor reads Clara's full name, Clara Oswin Oswald, on her tombstone and realises she is the woman he met in "" who became a Dalek. He gleefully announces that a person dying twice is an impossibility he must investigate, says his goodbyes to his allies. In times, a young woman resembling Clara walks through the graveyard. Meanwhile, the Doctor dashes around the TARDIS console, echoing Clara's dying words: "watch me run!" Continuity The previously encountered the in the serials , set in the 1930s, and , set in the 1960s. In these stories, the Great Intelligence uses as its physical presence. The events of The Web of Fear are alluded to by the Doctor in "The Snowmen" when he presents the London Underground biscuit tin to the Great Intelligence in Dr. Simeon's laboratory; the Intelligence states, "I do not understand these markings", in reference to the design on the tin, an in 1892. The Doctor remarks that the Underground is a "key strategic weakness in metropolitan living", referring to (and possibly setting in motion) the future Yeti attack on London via the Underground. In this respect, "The Snowmen" may be considered as a prequel to the Second Doctor Yeti serials, establishing an origin for the Intelligence and explaining its penchant for "Snowmen" and knowledge of the London Underground. Vastra, Jenny and Strax first appeared in "". Vastra and Jenny were considered popular characters from the previous episode with some fans hoping for a spinoff series, but while Moffat stated then he had no time to work on such a show, he would consider reusing the characters within Doctor Who. Strax had died in that episode; the Doctor states that his death has been reversed ("He gave his life for a friend once. Another friend brought him back"), but the circumstances of how this occurred are not explained in full. Clara is given a test by Vastra to ask the Doctor why he should help in one word. She chooses "pond", which is the surname of former companion . In order to convey the emotional effect this word has on the Doctor, during the scene in which he hears it he is wearing the reading glasses Amy left him with at the close of "". Clara is played by the same actress, Coleman, as Oswin Oswald from "Asylum of the Daleks", though the connectivity of these characters is not established until the Doctor takes Clara into the TARDIS. There, the Doctor finds her to have an interest in , a trait that Oswin's character also had; the show uses scenes from "Asylum" to show the Doctor's recollection of this. The final scenes at the graveyard establish that Clara shares the same name as Oswin, leading the Doctor to surmise they are the same person. As seen on her gravestone, Clara's birthdate is 23 November, the date Doctor Who was first transmitted in 1963. Cultural references Doctor Simeon posits that is basing his stories in on the exploits of Vastra, a reference to 's stories of . The Doctor later uses the alias 'Sherlock Holmes' to gain entrance to Simeon's house, bearing the deerstalker and magnifying glass associated with the character. Doctor Who lead writer Steven Moffat, who wrote this episode, is also the co-creator of the BBC series , a contemporary update of Doyle's works, for which Matt Smith auditioned for the part of Doctor Watson. The Doctor Who novel features the sharing an adventure with Holmes himself. Production Promotional poster for The Snowmen Writing and design changes Writer stated that he wanted an "epic" quality to the Christmas special. He compared the withdrawn Doctor seen at the onset of the episode to the first appearances of the () in 1963 and the () in 2005. He also attributed the idea of a retired Doctor to a plot proposed by in the 1970s, but rejected by the production team at the time. As with the first half of series 7, "The Snowmen" was written like a movie. A movie poster was released in the , showing the Doctor and Clara ascending the ladder to the TARDIS. According to producer Caroline Skinner, the concept of introducing the new companion as Oswin in "Asylum of the Daleks" occurred to Moffat during casting auditions for Clara. The production team requested that the press and fans who attended advanced screenings keep Coleman's appearance a secret until "Asylum" was broadcast; the effort was ultimately successful. The episode saw several major design changes for the series. "The Snowmen" is the debut of a redesigned TARDIS interior, as well as a new title sequence and variation of (although the closing credits still use the previous version of the tune). The new title sequence features a brief glimpse of the Eleventh Doctor's face, the first time since the end of the original series in 1989 that the Doctor's face has been seen in the title sequence. Moffat had noticed that the TARDIS' design was getting "progressively whimsical" and resembled more of a "magical place" rather than a machine. The Doctor also wears a new costume, tying in to the purple colour scheme, which Smith described as "a bit meets the Doctor". Moffat described the new outfit as a "progression" as the Doctor was in "a different phase of his life now" and felt more "grown-up" and fatherlike. The costume was designed by Howard Burden for this episode. Casting This episode marks the return of , who previously appeared in the series 7 opener, "". Coleman was cast because of her chemistry with Matt Smith, and especially because she was able to talk faster than him. She auditioned for the role of Clara, not Oswin from "Asylum", as the concept of the two characters being the same only occurred to Moffat whilst casting for Clara. Smith said that Clara was different from her predecessor (), which allowed the audience to see a different side of the Doctor. Moffat felt that the introduction of a new companion made "the show feel different" and brought the story to "a new beginning" with a different person meeting the Doctor. Also returning are as Madame Vastra, as Strax and Catrin Stewart as Jenny. All three previously appeared in "" and reprised their roles both in this episode and in the prequels. They returned due to the popularity of Vastra and Jenny; Moffat considered a spin-off featuring them, though he did not have the time to do it. Instead, he decided to bring them back in the main series. Richard E. Grant had previously played the Doctor on two occasions, as an alternative in the spoof charity special , which was written by Moffat and as an in the animated story which had been intended to be a continuation of the series before it was revived in 2005. Smith commented that Grant was "born to be a Who villain. He pitches it on that perfect level and tone". Grant's appearance in Doctor Who was teased by the BC via , announcing his appearance at midnight August 5 2012. Tom Ward was drawn to his role because of the quality of the script, and also stated his young children were pleased that he appeared in the programme. The Great Intelligence was voiced by . The two children Clara is governess to, Digby and Francesca, were played by real-life brother and sister Joseph and Ellie Darcey-Alden. Filming and effects "The Snowmen" was originally intended to be produced in the fourth production block of the series and be the first episode Coleman shot as her character; however it did not begin filming until the week of 6 August 2012 after Coleman had worked on later episodes while Moffat was writing the Christmas special. The had taken place on 2 August 2012. This was the first Christmas special to be filmed in ' new studios. Scenes featuring Coleman and several guest stars in a Victorian setting were filmed in , while Coleman and Smith were also spotted filming in Bristol two weeks later on 21 August. Some scenes which used snow props were filmed in , where filming took place overnight on 21–22 August 2012. Director Saul Metzstein explained that it was difficult to achieve the desired look for the snowmen; the first ones he likened to from which was too "cute" of an appearance, and so the effects team created more menacing CGI faces. Clara's introduction to the TARDIS introduced two novel effects for the show. The first was a single-shot camera tracking from Clara's point of view, from a few feet away from the TARDIS to its interior, with the implication of the TARDIS's trans-dimenional nature shown to the audience. This was a shot that has been postulated throughout Doctor Who's production history, as documented in the special, but only first to be realized in The Snowmen. In the following shot, the camera does a complete circle of the TARDIS console, an effect not seen since the early days of the show. Metzstein wanted to include this shot to further emphasize the "bigger on the inside than the outside" nature of the time machine. Broadcast and reception "The Snowmen" aired on on 25 December 2012 at 5:15 p.m., the same day on in the US and in Canada and the next day on in Australia. UK overnight ratings showed that the special had been watched by 7.6 million viewers, coming in sixth for the night. Final consolidated figures (not including viewers) showed that the episode was watched by 9.87 million viewers, coming in fourth for the night. It also received an figure of 87, higher than most of the Doctor Who Christmas specials. The iPlayer version had 1,467,220 views, making it the most popular TV show on iPlayer over Christmas. The US airing was seen by 1.43 million viewers, with a 0.6 rating in the demographic of adults aged 18–49. Critical reception The episode received mostly positive reviews. Dan Martin of called it "actually the best since ''" and the first to be "actually scary", with "everything we like" about Doctor Who and Christmas. He praised Coleman's introduction as Clara and the gang of Vastra, Jenny, and Strax. 's Matt Risley gave "The Snowman" a score of 9.4 out of 10, describing it as "a rollicking, riveting masterclass in storytelling" which "refreshingly" lacked traditional Christmas references "in favour of some sparkling dialogue, gorgeous set design and fascinating characterisation". While he felt that Grant and McKellan were underused, he was very positive towards Coleman's "unpredictable" Clara. reviewer Patrick Mulkern was pleased with the return of the Great Intelligence despite an inconsistency in the timeline he found, and praised the "lovely images" and direction of the special, though he felt the variation of the theme music "lacks the menace" of the original. While he was positive towards Clara, he was "unmoved by her death" as it was "plainly silly" that she did not look injured. Nick Setchfield of gave the special four and a half out of five stars, writing that the "the power of emotion saves the day again" was appropriate in light of the festivities and many fairytales referenced in the story. Setchfield was positive towards the "terrific" comedy with Strax, Coleman and the "surprisingly underused" Grant, as well as the new title sequence and TARDIS. While he wrote that the subtle callback of the Great Intelligence was "a tad more interesting than the usual 'So, we meet again!' schtick", he ultimately felt their threat "never quite comes into sharp relief". Neela Debnath of wrote that "The Snowmen" was stronger than the previous year's "" as it was connected to the overall story of the series, but "still has a way to go if it is to live up to ''". Despite feeling that it was "enjoyable", she noted that "the story feels truncated and rushed" 's Jon Cooper also praised Coleman and the new side of the Doctor that was shown, comparing it to () challenging the (). However, he felt the character-heavy story was to the detriment of the plot, which was "a classic Who set-up that ultimately suffers from a lack of explanation [and] more set-pieces than a coherent whole". He felt that the episode may not have been accessible for casual viewers, but offered much for fans in time for the programme's fiftieth anniversary. Dominic Cavendish of gave "The Snowmen" three out of five stars, disappointed that it was not as scary as it had been hyped to be. While he was positive towards Smith and the TARDIS on the cloud, he criticised Strax and the "-like complexity" of the script. References ^ Jeffery, Morgan (19 December 2012). . . Retrieved 27 December 2012. . BBC News. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012. . BBC. 8 December 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2012. ^ . BBC. Retrieved 27 December 2012. Hogan, Michael (14 August 2012). . . Retrieved 1 September 2012. . BBC. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2012. ^ Martin, Dan (29 September 2012). . . Retrieved 26 December 2012. ^ Risley, Matt (25 December 2012). . . Retrieved 26 December 2012. ^ Setchfield, Nick (25 December 2012). . . Retrieved 26 December 2012. . SFX. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2012. Their marriage is not revealed until the main special itself. (Video). BBC. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012. ^ (Video). BBC. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012. Wilkins, Alasdair (25 December 2012). . . Retrieved 25 December 2012. . SFX. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011. Setchfield, Nick (22 July 2011). . SFX. Retrieved 29 December 2012. Sagers, Aaron (18 December 2012). . . Retrieved 7 January 2013. French, Dan (4 February 2010). . Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 February 2010. . Doctor Who Reviews. Retrieved 4 January 2013. ^ . 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